GXS dry pump from Edwards improves process throughput for crystal puller and laminator

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  Edwards GXS

Product Briefing Outline: Edwards has developed a new GXS dry pump designed to support pumping requirements for silicon ingot manufacturing and laminator applications in the solar industry. The GXS dry pump can operate on as little as 3.9kW of input power (depending on the pump version) and is said to use 57% less energy than competing piston pumps.

Problem: The GXS provides the optimized thermal control and dust handling capability needed to meet the pumping challenges encountered in these processes. The high atmospheric pumping speed capability of the GXS also enables faster chamber pump-down, reducing cycle times and improving throughput.

Solution: The GXS uses a tapered variable pitch screw profile that allows for tight clearances without the need for rotor coatings. It also enables compression variations along the rotor axis for improved thermal stability and better thermal control, making it suited to handling the high flows of argon gas used in crystal pulling applications, as well as the dust generated during the manufacturing process. The high efficiency motors are inverter driven and can run in idle mode. Inert, non-oxidizing oil is used to lubricate the gears and bearings of the pump with no maintenance required between major services. The pumping mechanism does not use oil, which means there is no need for frequent and costly oil changes, unlike oil-sealed rotary vane pumps.

Applications: The GXS dry pump has been optimized to meet the specific pumping process requirements for solar laminator and crystal pulling applications.

Platform: At least 50% smaller than competing pumps at approx. 0.4m (W) x 1.1m (L) x 0.8m (H), the GXS dry pump is a low-noise (<64db(A)) option. The pump is compatible with Edwards’ Fabworks data monitoring system so that pump parameters can be monitored and trended in real-time.

Availability: Currently available.