18
Solarus 950 Owner’s Manual and User’s Guide
13.
Open the valves on the cylinders of newly attached gas lines.
14.
Set the gas pressure regulators on the cylinders to ~25 PSI (~ 1.7 bar).
The system is now ready for use.
Connecting Exhaust Lines
The common by-products of plasma cleaning with H
2
/O
2
or Ar/O
2
chemistries are
unlikely to be harmful in small quantities, but Gatan recommends connecting the
exhaust line to a vent connection that removes the processed gases from the room
to the outside. The exhaust line connection is Swagelok.
N
OTE
:
When H
2
and O
2
are used with Gatan recipes, the H
2
is combusted and is
not present in meaningful (harmful or combustible) quantities. If users cre-
ate their own recipes using H
2
(particularly when the concentration is
much greater than O
2
), H
2
may exist in the exhausted gas. In such gases,
venting the gas from the room is important.
To properly connect the exhaust lines:
1.
Attach the exhaust line to the connector labeled
Pump Exhaust Out
on the
rear panel of the cabinet (Swagelok compression fitting for 1/4” OD tube).
The Swagelok fitting is ready for a tube to be connected.
2.
Make sure the nut is finger tight.
3.
Insert the gas tubing into the fitting, making sure the tubing is pressed firmly
into the shoulder of the fitting.
4.
Tighten the nut 3/4 turn clockwise using a wrench.
Connecting Vent Gas Line
The system typically vents the chamber with ambient air, through a carbon filter.
A connection is available so that a customer-supplied gas such as dry nitrogen
may be used. When the vent button is pressed, this gas connection is opened to the
chamber (through a regulator) for a pre-set length of time (default 30 seconds).
A regulator controls the speed at which the system vents. The regulator adjust-
ment is accessible on the rear panel just below the vent gas connection, and is
adjusted with an Allen key. You may need to adjust this regulator to maintain the
proper vent timing. We have determined that 5 seconds is optimal, in that free-
standing samples are not disturbed by the vent gas. This timing may be adjusted
by the user if desired. There is a system timer that should be changed if this time is
significantly different than 5 seconds.
The Pirani gauge is calibrated for Nitrogen gas. If you use another gas to vent
with, the pressure reading will be inaccurate while the system is vented. For
C
AUTION
:
If the samples being processed contain toxic materials, it is
critical
that
the exhaust gas is also treated as toxic and appropriate measures are taken to
remedy the situation.
!
