Swagelok Company announced that additional testing has demonstrated an increase in cycle life for its Swagelok ALD series valve, up to 100 million cycles. The ultrahigh-purity, pneumatically actuated valve is designed for use in atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes – a staple deposition technique in the semiconductor industry.
Enhanced cycle life for ALD valves is meant to strengthen efficient manufacture of key components from transistor gates and DRAM dielectrics to gallium arsenide nanostructures in photovoltaic cells.
Since its introduction in 2004, Swagelok ALD series valves have been used for UHP applications requiring rapid, precise actuation speeds. The series features valve actuation times less than 5 milliseconds and a factory-set flow adjusting mechanism for precise, consistent Cv, which enables consistent delivery of process gas. The valve’s demonstrated cycle life was previously 50 million cycles.
