Two-Stage Valves – MKS

Traditionally, the method to soft start a vacuum system had been to run a secondary bypass line with a small orifice valve around the main vacuum isolation valve. The use of bypass lines in semiconductor nitride and etch processes requires special engineered designs that are hardware intensive. These lines also clog easily and result in higher costs. MKS has designed the Two-Stage Valve specifically to accommodate space constraints and soft start the system in two steps.

In the first stage, the bypass valve allows slow pumping from atmospheric pressure to a user-specified vacuum pressure. In the second stage, the main valve opens, allowing use of full pumping speed.