The development of a portable ultrahigh vacuum chamber via silicon block

This paper describes a nonmetallic, light weight portable chamber for ultra-high vacuum (UHV) applications. The chamber consists of a processed silicon block anodically bonding five polished Pyrex glass windows and a Pyrex glass adapter, without using any screws, bolts or vacuum adhesives. The design features provide an alternative chamber for UHV applications which require nonmetallic components. We have cyclically baked the chamber up to 180 degrees C for 160 h and have achieved an ultimate pressure of 1.4 x 10(-9) Torr (limited by our pumping station), with no leak detected. Both Pyrex glass windows and Pyrex glass adapter have been used successfully. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.