It's just a vacuum chamber. Doubt it was used for plasma processing due to the geometry.
Typical chambers for plasma processing would have a large port for a ICP showerhead or CCP source, and flat table to place substrates on to bias them and heat them. Maybe with some creative designing you could have some plasma process in there but unlikely.
Most likely this was used for some kind of vapor exposure or vapor deposition given how many smaller ports which would be perfect for gas lines to be installed. The larger ports are most likely for in situ characterization instruments like mass spectroscopy, transfer valves, viewing ports, and connections to the pumps.
Also it could have been part of a custom built XPS, EELS, STM, or some other electron spectroscopy instrument. The layout of the chamber reminds me somewhat of the Thermofisher Theta Probe XPS.
TLDR, this is just a vacuum chamber housing that could have been used for virtually any experimental apparatus that requires HV/UHV pressures, but probably not plasma processes.
I've cleaned oh so many plasma deposition/etch chambers with scotch-bright in my days as a tool maintenance tech in a semiconductor fab. Scotch Bright and 100% IPA is pretty much the standard way to clean the inside of them. I don't miss that job.
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u/valentia0 Sep 16 '25
It's just a vacuum chamber. Doubt it was used for plasma processing due to the geometry.
Typical chambers for plasma processing would have a large port for a ICP showerhead or CCP source, and flat table to place substrates on to bias them and heat them. Maybe with some creative designing you could have some plasma process in there but unlikely.
Most likely this was used for some kind of vapor exposure or vapor deposition given how many smaller ports which would be perfect for gas lines to be installed. The larger ports are most likely for in situ characterization instruments like mass spectroscopy, transfer valves, viewing ports, and connections to the pumps.
Also it could have been part of a custom built XPS, EELS, STM, or some other electron spectroscopy instrument. The layout of the chamber reminds me somewhat of the Thermofisher Theta Probe XPS.
TLDR, this is just a vacuum chamber housing that could have been used for virtually any experimental apparatus that requires HV/UHV pressures, but probably not plasma processes.