A JXB-DRIVEN PLASMA BOOSTER VACUUM PUMP: THE ROTATING PLASMACOMPRESSOR

HIGH VACUUM PLASMA PUMPING OFFERS AN IMPORTANT, ATTRACTIVE, AND VIABLE METHOD OF PRODUCING VACUA. SINCE NO MECHANICAL MOVING PARTS ARE EMPLOYED, IT IS INHERENTLY RUGGED. MOREOVER, IT CAN ACHIEVE HIGH VALUES OF HYDROGEN AND HELIUM THROUGHPUT WITH EXCELLENT FLEXIBILITY AND SPEED. A HIGH VACUUM PLASMA PUMPING METHOD, THE PLASMA VACUUM PUMP (PVP), THAT USES ELECTRON CYCLOTRON HEATING (ECH) TO ACHIEVE THESE INHERENT ADVANTAGES IN PRACTICE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. A COMPLEMENTARY, NON-MECHANICAL PLASMA BOOSTER-PUMP STAGE CAN GREATLY EXTEND THE APPLICATION RANGE OF PLASMA PUMPING METHODS BY MATCHING THE PVP PUMPING SPEED AT HIGHER WORKING PRESSURES THAN ARE FEASIBLE FOR THE PVP. THE RESULTING PUMPING SYSTEM COULD BE COMPLETELY FREE OF SOURCES OF OIL STREAMING AND THUS PROVIDE A "DRY" SYSTEM. ADDITIONALLY, THE AUGMENTED PVP WOULD RETAIN THE INHERENT RUGGEDNESS AND CAPABILITY FOR RAPID UP-DOWN CYCLING OF THE LOW PRESSURE PVP. THE BOOSTER STAGE IS DESIGNED TO COMPRESS THE AXIAL PLASMA FLOW FROM THE PVP BY A FACTOR OF 500 TO 1,000. THIS PERMITS HIGH GAS THROUGHPUT AT WORKING PRESSURES UP TO 10 MTORR TO BE EXHAUSTED INTO A DRY MECHANICAL PUMP (E.G., A DIAPHRAGM PUMP), AT APPROXIMATELY 1 TORR. TO ACHIEVE THIS PERFORMANCE, PHASE I WILL DEVELOP A NOVEL CONCEPT CALLED THEROTATING PLASMA COMPRESSOR (RPC). THIS EMPLOYS THE BASIC PHENOMENOLOGY OF ROTATING PLASMAS, ESTABLISHED SEVERAL DECADES AGO, THAT CAN BE READILY ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT APPLICATION.