Programming and Operation
3-8
P/N 8040406
C
HELIX TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
-
TI
CRYOGENICS
Regeneration Function
The REGEN function of the On-Board FastRegen Control Module allows
you to initiate a Full or Fast regeneration cycle on your cryopump. Once
initiated, the On-Board System automatically sequences your pump
through the various phases of the regeneration cycle.
A Full regeneration cycle allows the cryopump to warm-up to room
temperature so that both gases and water vapor collected on the arrays are
purged from the pump. Once the contaminates are purged, the cryopump
becomes cold again.
In many cases, there is little water pumped and so it is not necessary to
warm the pump to room temperature. If the pump is primarily filled with
such gases as argon, nitrogen or hydrogen, then the pump can be
regenerated using a Fast Regeneration cycle. A Fast regeneration cycle
only warms the cryopump enough to release the gases condensed on the
arays and trapped within the charcoal. This allows the regeneration cycle
to be completed in less than an hour in many cases.
One of the key process steps in a Fast regeneration cycle is the removal of
the condensed gas by means of the roughing pump. It is important that the
condensed gas be removed quickly as the pump warms up, and that a
certain minimum base pressure in the cryopump be achieved quickly.
Because of these requirements, it is necessary that cryopumps that share a
common roughing pump be coordinated. That is, the start of regeneration,
the opening and closing of the roughing valves and the purge valves on
multi-pump On-Board Cryopump systems must happen at very specific
times and in unison. These are coordinated by the Network Terminal. The
roughing valves are coordinated by the Network Terminal for both Fast and
Full regeneration cycles although for different reasons.
NOTE: Refer to the Network Terminal Installation, Operation and
Maintenance Instruction manual CTI-CRYOGENICS P/N 8040375G001
for Network Terminal set-up and operating instructions for multi-pump
regeneration cycles.
Typically, regeneration is a function that is part of overall periodic
maintenance for a cryopump system: frequency is dependent upon your
particular pump application, but the cycle can be manually started at any
time.
