Backstreaming of pump oil vapors in vacuum systems

Abstract

Summary Backstreaming, or back‐migration, of vacuum pump oils can prevent a vacuum system from reaching its lowest possible pressure and may contaminate vacuum‐enable processes, such as thin film deposition. There are several circumstances which may lead to backstreaming, methods to measure the rate of oils reaching a vacuum chamber, and techniques to reduce or eliminate the problem. This article serves as an introduction to these issues and provides support on causes, measurement and mitigation.