U.S. patent application number 16/966017 was filed with the patent office on 2020-11-12 for combined structure of uhv characterization instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and built-in mass spectrometer electric quadrupole.
This patent application is currently assigned to SHANGHAITECH UNIVERSITY. The applicant listed for this patent is SHANGHAITECH UNIVERSITY. Invention is credited to Yong YANG.
Application Number | 20200355653 16/966017 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005178514 |
Filed Date | 2020-11-12 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200355653 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YANG; Yong |
November 12, 2020 |
COMBINED STRUCTURE OF UHV CHARACTERIZATION
INSTRUMENT-INTERCONNECTED IN-SITU REACTION CELL AND BUILT-IN MASS
SPECTROMETER ELECTRIC QUADRUPOLE
Abstract
A coupling structure of a UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and a built-in mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole is provided. One end of a stainless
steel capillary is connected to a segregated in-situ reaction cell
gas output pipeline, and the other end of the stainless steel
capillary is a sampling port. A sampling gas flowing out of the
sampling port is divided into two gas paths, wherein, one gas path
enters a vacuum buffer chamber through a valve with a low flow
control ratio, and the other gas path enters a mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole through a valve with a high flow control ratio.
When the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole performs sampling gas
composition analysis on the interconnected in-situ reaction cell,
its sampling time delay is negligible and the sampling analysis
requirements for in-situ analysis of continuity, real-time and high
time resolution are met.
Inventors: |
YANG; Yong; (Shanghai,
CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SHANGHAITECH UNIVERSITY |
Shanghai |
|
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
SHANGHAITECH UNIVERSITY
Shanghai
CN
|
Family ID: |
1000005178514 |
Appl. No.: |
16/966017 |
Filed: |
April 25, 2018 |
PCT Filed: |
April 25, 2018 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2018/084398 |
371 Date: |
July 30, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01N 30/7206 20130101;
H01J 49/4215 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G01N 30/72 20060101
G01N030/72; H01J 49/42 20060101 H01J049/42 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 13, 2018 |
CN |
201810206985.1 |
Claims
1. A coupling structure of a UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and a built-in mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole, comprising a segregated in-situ
reaction cell, wherein, an in-situ reaction cell gas output
pipeline is connected to the independent segregated in-situ
reaction cell, and the segregated in-situ reaction cell connects
with a vacuum buffer chamber; a sample is transferred to a sample
chamber of a UHV characterization instrument through a vacuum
interconnecting transfer device, and the vacuum buffer chamber is
separated from the sample chamber by a 1.sup.st gate valve; the
sample chamber connects with a mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole, and a turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set is
configured on the sample chamber; wherein, a first end of a
stainless steel capillary pipeline is connected to the in-situ
reaction cell gas output pipeline, and a second end of the
stainless steel capillary pipeline is a sampling port; a sampling
gas flowing out of the sampling port is divided into two gas paths,
wherein, a first gas path of the sampling gas enters the vacuum
buffer chamber through a first valve with a low flow control ratio,
and a second gas path of the sampling gas enters the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole through a second valve with a high
flow control ratio.
2. The coupling structure of the UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to claim 1, wherein,
a flange is connected between the vacuum buffer chamber and the
segregated in-situ reaction cell, and the flange is provided with a
viewport for monitoring sample transfer; and wherein when the
vacuum buffer chamber comprises an idle flange port, the idle
flange port is changed to a ferrule tube to flange adapter; and
when the vacuum buffer chamber does not comprises the idle flange
port, the above flange is by employing a 2.sup.nd tee flange, the
flange with the viewport for monitoring sample transfer is provided
in a straight-through direction of the 2.sup.nd tee flange, the
flange port in a non-straight-through direction of the 2.sup.nd tee
flange is the idle flange port, and the idle flange port is changed
to the ferrule tube to flange adapter; and wherein the first gas
path of the sampling gas enters the vacuum buffer chamber via the
ferrule tube to flange adapter through the first valve with the low
flow control ratio.
3. The coupling structure of the UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to claim 1, wherein,
the first valve with the low flow control ratio comprises a bonnet
needle valve.
4. The coupling structure of the UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to claim 1, wherein,
the second valve with the high flow control ratio comprises a high
precision metering needle valve.
5. The coupling structure of the UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to claim 2, wherein,
the sampling port of the stainless steel capillary pipeline is
connected to a protection ball valve.
6. The coupling structure of the UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to claim 5, further
comprising a 1.sup.st tee flange, three flange ports of the
1.sup.st tee flange are connected to the sample chamber, the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole and the second valve with the high
flow control ratio, respectively.
7. The coupling structure of the UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to claim 6, wherein,
one of the three flange ports of the 1.sup.st tee flange is
connected to the second valve with the high flow control ratio, and
the 1.sup.st tee flange is separated from the second valve with the
high flow control ratio by a 2.sup.nd gate valve.
8. The coupling structure of the UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to claim 7, wherein,
the ferrule tube to flange adapter, the stainless steel capillary
pipeline, the protection ball valve, the first valve with the low
flow control ratio, the second valve with the high flow control
ratio, and the second gate valve connect with each other to form an
installation module.
9. The coupling structure of the UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to claim 1, wherein,
the stainless steel capillary pipeline performs a sampling on the
in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline, and is then directly
adapted to a stainless steel pipeline with an amplified outer
diameter, wherein the amplified outer diameter of the stainless
steel pipeline is equal to or larger than of 1/4 inch.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is the national phase entry of
International Application No. PCT/CN2018/084398, filed on Apr. 25,
2018, which is based upon and claims priority to Chinese Patent
Application No. 201810206985.1, filed on Mar. 13, 2018, the entire
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to reaction control, kinetic
characterization, composition detection and the coupling
characterization with an ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument (abbreviated as UHV characterization instrument) for
fundamental chemical reaction kinetics investigation of online
treatments. The present invention is particularly focused on the
following: an ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument
provided with more than one vacuum molecular pump, for its sample
pretreatment within its interconnected in-situ reaction cell,
realizing its online composition analysis and characterization by
extending and expanding function of the built-in mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole on the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument. In application, the present invention achieves
simultaneous, real-time and continuous recording of the reaction
gas composition in the environment where a research object is
located during industrial condition preparation, thereby providing
detailed preparation process information along with the accurate
investigation as spectrum/microscopic imaging of the research
object, and establishing the mutual relationship between the two.
The present invention is also suitable for real-time and continuous
detection of gas components in other similar environments, or can
be used as a reference for an application scheme for directly
interconnecting ultra-high vacuum characterization instruments
other than the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole with a
high-pressure environment.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The function of an in-situ reaction cell interconnected with
an ultra-high vacuum device is to introduce a chemical reaction
into the in-situ reaction cell, perform an in-situ pre-treatment on
a sample, simulate a growth or reaction environment of materials by
changing the temperature, pressure and gas component conditions of
the reaction environment, and then perform spectral or microscopic
imaging analysis directly by the ultra-high vacuum device through
vacuum interconnection, thereby providing correlation data
information between reaction conditions and sample behaviors. The
main purpose of this treatment design is, namely, that its
advantage, lies in the following: in the entire process from
preparation to analysis, the samples are run under a customized
ambient and vacuum protection, and are not subject to air
contamination, thereby ensuring the direct correlation between the
analysis results of the ultra-high vacuum device and the sample
pre-treatment. At present, the vacuum interconnection of the
ultra-high vacuum device and the in-situ reaction cell is an
important upgrade option for large-scale instruments or devices,
which can generally reach 10 bar (1 MPa) and 900.degree. C.
[0004] The ultra-high vacuum spectroscopy or imaging
characterization instruments, such as X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscope (TEM),
scanning tunneling microscope (STM), high resolution energy
electron energy loss spectrum (HREELS), low energy electron
diffraction (LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), have the
advantages of high resolution and high sensitivity in
characterization. However, the pressure range of ultra-high vacuum
limits the applicable range of such types of instruments, and the
general operation environment requires an pressure of 10.sup.-6
mbar or even lower. In a large part of the characterization work,
it is necessary to simulate different conditions through the
preparation process to study the corresponding reaction or growth
environment that may affect the properties of the measured object,
and reflect the properties in the measurement results of
spectroscopy or imaging, thereby establishing a direct causal
relationship between the preparation environment and the changes in
the correlated properties of the measured object during the
measurement process, and further deeply understanding important
chemical reactions. The above preparation conditions are often
above 1 bar, which greatly exceeds the operation conditions of the
ultra-high vacuum characterization spectroscopy or imaging
instruments.
[0005] By means of the independent in-situ reaction cell that can
be interconnected with the vacuum, the preparation process under
the above high-temperature and high-pressure conditions can be
completed in the segregated in-situ reaction cell. After the
preparation is completed, the pressure in the in-situ reaction cell
is connected with a vacuum buffer chamber, and is reduced to a
vacuum level equivalent to the ultra-high vacuum characterization
part by an ultra high vacuum device such as a turbo molecular
pump-mechanical pump set, and then the sample is transferred to the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument through the vacuum
interconnecting transfer device to complete the measurement and
analysis. This is currently an important means to understand and
improve representative chemical engineering reaction processes.
[0006] Due to the causal relationship between the preparation
conditions and the measurement results, in the above measurement,
the real-time accurate quantification of the composition of gas
components in growth or reaction environment of the in-situ
reaction cell and its corresponding time change is obviously
crucial in the preparation process. However, the manufacturers that
provide interconnection schemes do not support the gas composition
analysis function which interconnected with the in-situ reaction
cell, that is, they cannot provide a tracking verification
corresponding to the ambient and vacuum protection during the
process from preparation to characterization.
[0007] From the analysis of component control, the components of a
reactant entering the in-situ reaction cell may be precisely
controlled by a gas flow ratio, namely an input gas mixing device
installed outside the instrument. However, the gas components are
also bound to be changed along with the actual reaction process.
For example, if the characteristics of a catalyst in a carbon
monoxide oxidization process are observed, the reaction components
before input are a precisely mixed gas of carbon monoxide and
oxygen, but carbon dioxide will be produced in the in-situ reaction
cell. If a sample produces carbonate-related signals during
characterization, the corresponding in-situ data of components of
the carbon dioxide gas in the preparation is crucial for discussion
and argumentation. In addition, if the in-situ reaction cell is
mixed with impurities due to an erroneous operation in the gas
exposure control of the sample preparation process, it cannot be
monitored without a device supporting the gas composition analysis
function. Therefore, continuous real-time online components
analysis must be performed in the in-situ reaction cell
interconnected with the ultra-high vacuum spectroscopy or imaging
instrument characterization if a causal relationship needs to be
truly established between the reaction environment and the
properties of the measurement object.
[0008] FIG. 1 shows the layout structure in the prior art and how
the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument and the in-situ
reaction cell are interconnected. By means of the independent
in-situ reaction cell 1 that can be interconnected with the vacuum,
the preparation process at high temperature and high pressure
conditions is separated from the ambient environment and is
completed in the in-situ reaction cell. After the preparation is
completed, the pressure in the independent in-situ reaction cell 1
connects with the vacuum buffer chamber 2, and is reduced to a
vacuum level equivalent to the ultra-high vacuum characterization
part through the 1.sup.st turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set
3 configured in the chamber, and then, a sample is transferred to a
sample chamber 5 of the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument through the vacuum interconnecting transfer device 4,
and is ready to be further transferred to the main analysis chamber
of the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument to complete
the characterization measurement. The vacuum buffer chamber 2 is
segregated from the sample chamber 5 by the 1.sup.st gate valve 6.
In this way, the preparation process is exclusively completed in
the independent in-situ reaction cell 1 and is segregated from the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument. The sample chamber 5
connects with the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7 and is
provided with the 2.sup.nd turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set
8.
[0009] The main technical problem in the modification of the layout
structure shown in FIG. 1 is that the connection method of the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole built in the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument is only suitable for detection of
possible micro-leakage in the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument or treatment of trace gas at the atomic level of the
sample. Its corresponding pressure is in the range of 10.sup.-10 to
10.sup.-5 mbar, while the environmental parameters required by the
online detection of the in-situ reaction cell need to reach 1 to 10
bar. Therefore, the modified mass spectrometer electro quadrupole
should take into account the two different pressure ranges, that
is, on the basis of the original range of 10.sup.-10 to 10.sup.-5
mbar, it further expands the operating range covering 1 to 10
bar.
[0010] In addition, during the design of the extension and
expansion of the operation range of the mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole for the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument,
the original operation structure of the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument needs to be retained, that is, when the
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole monitors the in-situ reaction
cell online, all other functional parts of the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument are still in normal operating
conditions.
[0011] Therefore, the main problem of the above composition
analysis is summarized as following: On the premise of not changing
the operation structure of the UHV characterization equipment, the
online real-time gas composition analysis of the in-situ reaction
cell interconnected with the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument is realized in the conditions of the operating pressure
range from 1 to 10 bar and the temperature range from room
temperature to 900.degree. C. by extending and expanding the
operation measurement range of the mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole.
[0012] In addition, it should also be noted that the in-situ
reaction cell for the X-ray apparatus generally has a pressure
range from 1 bar to 10 bar, which belongs to the range of normal
pressure to medium high pressure, and has exceeded the allowed
upper limit of sampling pressure of a general gas composition
analysis apparatus such as a gas chromatograph (GC) and a mass
spectrometer (MS) on the market.
SUMMARY
[0013] An objective of the present invention is to customize a mass
spectrometer sampling module scheme for an in-situ reaction cell
vacuum-interconnected with an ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument, and provide accurate control of gas input of the
reaction cell and online analysis of product components in the
reaction.
[0014] In order to achieve the above objective, the technical
solution of the present invention is to provide a coupling
structure of a UHV characterization instrument-interconnected
in-situ reaction cell and a built-in mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole, including a independent in-situ reaction cell, wherein,
an in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline is connected to the
independent in-situ reaction cell, and the independent in-situ
reaction cell connects with a vacuum buffer chamber. A sample is
transferred to a sample chamber of a UHV characterization
instrument through a vacuum interconnecting transfer device, and
the vacuum buffer chamber is segregated from the sample chamber by
a 1.sup.st gate valve. The sample chamber connects with a mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole, and a 2.sup.nd turbo molecular
pump-mechanical pump set is installed on the sample chamber. One
end of a stainless steel capillary pipeline is connected to the
in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline, and the other end of the
stainless steel capillary pipeline is a sampling port. A sampling
gas flowing out of the sampling port is divided into two gas paths,
wherein, one gas path enters the vacuum buffer chamber through a
valve with a low flow control ratio, and the other gas path enters
the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole through a valve with a
high flow control ratio.
[0015] Preferably, a flange with a viewport for monitoring sample
transfer is connected between the vacuum buffer chamber and the
independent in-situ reaction cell;
[0016] when the vacuum buffer chamber includes an idle flange port,
the idle flange port is changed to a ferrule tube to flange
adapter; and when the vacuum buffer chamber does not include an
idle flange port, the flange with the viewport for monitoring
sample transfer is replaced by a 2.sup.nd tee flange, the flange
with a viewport for monitoring sample transfer is installed on the
straight-through direction of the 2.sup.nd tee flange, the flange
port in a non-straight-through direction of the second tee flange
is an idle flange port, and the idle flange port is changed to a
ferrule tube to flange adapter; and one gas path of the sampling
gas enters the vacuum buffer chamber via the ferrule tube to flange
adapter through the valve with the low flow control ratio.
[0017] Preferably, the valve with the low flow control ratio
includes a bonnet needle valve.
[0018] Preferably, the valve with the high flow control ratio
includes a high precision metering needle valve.
[0019] Preferably, the sampling port of the stainless steel
capillary pipeline is connected to a protection ball valve.
[0020] Preferably, the coupling structure of the UHV
characterization instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell
and the built-in mass spectrometer electro quadrupole further
includes a 1.sup.st tee flange, wherein three flange ports of the
1.sup.st tee flange are connected to the sample chamber, the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole and the valve with the high flow
control ratio, respectively.
[0021] Preferably, the connection between one flange port of the
1.sup.st tee flange to the valve with the high flow control ratio
is segregated by a 2.sup.nd gate valve.
[0022] Preferably, the ferrule tube to flange adapter, the
stainless steel capillary pipeline, the protection ball valve, the
valve with the low flow control ratio, the valve with the high flow
control ratio, and the 2.sup.nd gate valve all connect with each
other to form an installation module.
[0023] Preferably, the stainless steel capillary pipeline performs
a sampling on the in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline, and is
then directly adapted to a stainless steel pipeline with an
amplified outer diameter of 1/4 inch or larger.
[0024] Mass spectrometry has the characteristics of rapid response
and high sensitivity to the gas composition change, and is an ideal
means for monitoring the gas composition of in-situ reaction cell.
In general, the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument is
provided with a mass spectrometer electro quadrupole connected to a
sample chamber. In addition, a plurality of turbo molecular
pump-mechanical pump sets are also provided. For example, a vacuum
buffer chamber, a sample chamber and the like must be equipped with
an independent turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set. These
devices are also the main hardware components for online detection
of the mass spectrometer, and meet the basic hardware requirements
of the solution of the inventor's granted patent No.
ZL201610140435.5 (hereinafter referred to as the "prior patent
solution") in China. The present invention combines the prior
patent solution and the specific conditions of the ultra-high
vacuum characterization instrument to directly use and reorganize
and modify these hardware devices to do online gas composition
detection for the reaction process in the in-situ reaction cell,
saving the cost of the solution to the greatest extent.
[0025] The present invention refers to a solution for online high
time resolution gas composition analysis using a mass spectrometer
under a pressure environment of 0.1 to 2 MPa proposed by the
applicant in the prior patent solution. On this basis, targeted
structural adjustment is performed on the assembly and measurement
scheme of the mass spectrometer according to a classified case of
the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument, to ensure that
the mass spectrometer continuously measures the gas composition
online in real time under the operating conditions of 1 bar to 10
bar in the in-situ reaction cell without changing the structure
requirements to ensure the regular operation of the ultrahigh
vacuum characterization instrument.
[0026] The solution proposed by the present invention is also
suitable as a reference for an application solution for directly
interconnecting an ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument
other than the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole with a
high-pressure environment.
[0027] The technical solution provided by the present invention
solves the following technical problems:
[0028] Technical problem 1: the pressure range of online measure of
the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole provided in the ultra-high
vacuum characterization instrument is expanded to make its sampling
pressure range further include the parameter range (1 to 10 bar) of
the in-situ reaction cell. The in-situ reaction cell interconnected
with the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument reaches the
upper limit pressure of 1 MPa during operation, which belongs to a
medium high pressure range.
[0029] The general commercial ambient pressure mass spectrometers
all require that the pressure in the sampling area is only 1 bar,
i.e. 0.1 MPa, which can only partially meet the sampling needs.
Even if the mass spectrometric analysis is limited to the in-situ
reaction cell pressure of about 0.1 MPa, the use of a commercial
ambient pressure mass spectrometer will also cause other
restrictions and limitations. (i) Since the capillary of the
commercial ambient pressure mass spectrometer are directly
connected to the mass spectrometer, there will be a certain space
limitation when the capillary is connected to the exhaust ports of
the in-situ reaction cell, and the length of the in-situ reaction
cell gas output pipeline outside the instrument needs to be further
increased to facilitate the connection. This will cause a certain
sampling time delay. (ii) In addition, the commercial ambient
pressure mass spectrometer generally uses a relatively long glass
fiber capillary, and its chromatographic effect itself will also
further increase the above sampling time delay. (iii) The
commercial ambient pressure mass spectrometer has a relatively
large volume, and the installation at a position with the pipelines
and wires dense arrangement near the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument is easy to cause difficulties in layout
and operation. Therefore, the use of commercial ambient pressure
mass spectrometers has shortcomings in time delay and pressure
adaptability.
[0030] The solution of the present invention adopts the prior
patent solution, is directly applicable to the pressure range of
0.1 to 2 MPa, and fully meets the operating requirements of the
in-situ reaction cell interconnected with the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument in the pressure range. In the aspect of
sampling time delay, the solution of the present invention has the
following advantages over the commercial ambient pressure mass
spectrometer. (i) Since the metal capillary is compatible with the
universal ferrule installation, it is suitable for arranging a
vacuum pipeline with a relatively large inner diameter such as a
stainless steel pipeline of 1/4 inch or larger to connect the
capillary and the mass spectrometer. This part of the pipeline is
already in a vacuum state when the mass spectrometer is tested, and
the diameter of the pipeline ensures a relatively large flow
conductance, so there will be no time delay due to the
transportation of the sampling gas passing through the capillary.
Moreover, it can also ensure that the capillary can be installed at
the exhaust pipeline joint closest to the in-situ reaction cell.
(ii) In addition, the delay time of the inlet diameter reduced
metal capillary in the prior patent solution is negligible compared
to the relatively long glass fiber capillary. (iii) Finally, as
mentioned above, the solution of the present invention ensures that
the metal capillary with a very small diameter and volume is
directly connected to a sampling port at the shortest distance
outside the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument on the
in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline, and the time delay of
the exhaust gas transmission is also already minimized. If a
commercial ambient pressure mass spectrometer is used, because the
volume of the instrument and the position of the capillary are
constant relative to the mass spectrometer instrument, the length
of the in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline needs to be
increased by about 1.5 m. For example, if a metal pipeline of 3 mm
is used, and the inner diameter is about 1.5 mm, then a total
internal volume of the pipeline is estimated to be 1.5
m.times..pi..times.(1.5 mm).sup.2/4, i.e., about 2 cm.sup.3.
However, by means of the design of the solution of the present
invention, the position of the capillary can be adjusted relative
to the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole, the distance from the
exhaust pipeline joint to the in-situ reaction cell is less than
7.5 cm, and the volume of the corresponding pipeline is only 0.1
cm.sup.3. Generally speaking, the in-situ reaction cell of the
ultra-high vacuum device is not a micro reaction cell, and its
internal dead volume generally reaches 100 mL or more. Therefore,
the volume of the above pipeline is much smaller than the dead
volume of the in-situ reaction cell itself, and the resulting time
delay is negligible. The time delay of the present invention is
minimized compared to the commercial ambient pressure mass
spectrometer by comprehensively optimizing the design advantages of
the above parts. Therefore, compared with the current commercial
instruments, the solution of the present invention has the
measurement flexibility and accuracy advantages of the time delay
and the pressure range of the sampling area, which are two
measurement indexes closely related to the in-situ reaction cell
interconnected with the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument.
[0031] Technical problem 2: the existing hardware devices of the
original instrument in the prior patent solution are shared and
utilized to the maximum extent, including a mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole and a turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set.
Another problem in the commercial ambient pressure mass
spectrometer is that both the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole
and the turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set are independent of
the original configuration of the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument, which is equivalent to repurchase the
both. Moreover, as a complete machine scheme, the commercial
atmospheric pressure mass spectrometer also has a high device added
value, which generally needs 300,000 to 400,000, and the overall
cost is very high.
[0032] The in-situ reaction cell interconnected with the ultra-high
vacuum characterization instrument is equipped with an independent
turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set (the vacuum limit is
10.sup.-9 mbar, and the background pressure is generally preserved
at 10.sup.-8 mbar) on the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument through a connected buffer chamber. The independent
turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set is used to preserve the
vacuum level of the corresponding chamber while ensuring the
pre-vacuum before the reaction process in the in-situ reaction
cell. That is, the reaction gas is not affected by the residual gas
in the reactor, and the experimental predetermined ratio is quickly
reached. When the in-situ reaction cell is in working status, the
gas is input according to the experimental requirements, and the
turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set is segregated from the
in-situ reaction cell and is only used to preserve the vacuum level
of the buffer chamber. In the prior patent solution adopted by the
solution of the present invention, an independent differential pump
set needs to be used to adjust the mass spectrometer to achieve a
steady sample injection volume under different sampling ambient
pressures. Therefore, this turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set
not only meets the requirements of an independent differential
pump, but also there is no need to perform any operation on the
in-situ cell when the in-situ cell is operating under pressure.
Therefore, when the mass spectrometric analysis of the gas in the
in-situ reaction cell is required, the solution of the present
invention uses this turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set as an
independent differential pump which is necessary for the prior
patent solution.
[0033] A mass spectrometer electro quadrupole is generally
configured on the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument at
a position connecting with a sample chamber, or there is at least a
flange position reserved for the mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole. Meanwhile, an independent turbo molecular
pump-mechanical pump set (the vacuum limit is 10.sup.-9 mbar, and
the background pressure is generally preserved at 10.sup.-8 mbar)
must be configured in the sample chamber. In the prior patent
solution adopted by the present invention, the mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole and the turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set
are required to complete the composition analysis of sampled gas at
about 10.sup.-6 mbar. Therefore, when the mass spectrometric
analysis of the gas in the in-situ reaction cell is required, the
solution of the present invention uses this pair of mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole and the turbo molecular
pump-mechanical pump set to achieve the online gas composition
analysis function necessary for the prior patent solution.
[0034] The above design directly uses the mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole and the turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set of the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument in the prior patent
solution, eliminating the repeated purchases (accounting for 90% or
more of the total hardware cost of the prior patent solution), also
saving the space of the control and sampling devices, and further
optimize the piping design required for gas sampling.
[0035] Technical problem 3: the original operation structure of the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument is not changed. The
original design of the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument is based on the realization of its characterization
function. These structures must remain intact after the new
measurement function of the present invention is added, and there
must be no changes. Comprehensively taking into account the
limitations of the instrument and the technical characteristics of
acquiring the gas composition analysis signal, the connection
between the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole and the in-situ
reaction cell is compatible with this limitation. When the reaction
cell is in the working status and is characterized online by mass
spectrometry, the reaction gas does not affect the normal operation
of the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument although it is
under an ambient pressure or medium-high pressure environment. In
the solution of the present invention, the pipelines of the in-situ
reaction cell itself are connected to the inlet and exhaust ports
outside the instrument to ensure that the reaction proceeds
normally in the in-situ reaction cell. The mass spectrometer and
the in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline leading out of the
instrument perform sampling through a special stainless steel
capillary to analyze the gas composition inside the reaction cell.
At this time, the buffer chamber connecting with the turbo
molecular pump-mechanical pump set used as the differential pump
has the highest pressure of 10.sup.-5 mbar, and the sample chamber
connected to another turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set has
the highest pressure of 10.sup.-6 mbar. The two chambers are both
separated from the rest of the parts of the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument, and both are pressure transition
chambers, which allow direct exposure to an pressure of 1 bar or
higher. Therefore, the sampling by mass spectrometry will not
affect the overall instrument when the above pressure range is
reached.
[0036] Technical problem 4: the scope of modification is small, and
the modification will not cause the overall shutdown of the
instrument and vacuum breakdown. As described above, at present,
third-party manufacturers have designed the in-situ reaction cells
for quite a few ultra-high vacuum spectroscopy characterization
instruments, but generally there are no matched reaction gas
composition control scheme and online gas composition analysis. The
solution of the present invention utilizes the original hardware
configuration of the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument,
i.e., the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole and the turbo
molecular pump-mechanical pump set that connect with the sample
chamber, and another turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set
fitted to the buffer chamber of the in-situ reaction cell, to
achieve the above functions. This belongs to third-party upgrades
and modifications performed on the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument with finalized design. The occurrence
of vacuum breakdown or shutdown to the main instrumentation chamber
will have a certain impact on the operation of the instrument
itself. In the solution of the present invention, the original
hardware of the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument is
utilized to the maximum extent, the original ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument involved has a large amount of hardware
configurations, and they are more dispersedly distributed on the
instrument. Therefore, it is required in the modification scheme
that the transition chambers (i.e., the sample chamber and the
buffer chamber) are within the allowed range of normal air
pressure, and the installation process does not cause the overall
shutdown and vacuum breakdown of the instrument.
[0037] In view of this problem, the solution of the present
invention proposes a pipeline connection design solution for
extending and expanding the sampling range of the mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole, and an installation solution is obtained
accordingly and does not affect the original working status of the
instrument. To complete the installation of the solution of the
present invention, only the connecting flange between the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole and the sample chamber needs to be
changed to a tee flange of the same diameter, the open end is
turned off by a gate valve, and one idle flange of the buffer
chamber is changed to be adapted to a stainless steel ferrule tube
of 1/4 inch or more through the flange with the same diameter
specification and is turned off by a needle valve. Except for the
modification of the two flanges, the connection of all other
pipelines can be completed outside the chamber of the ultra-high
vacuum characterization instrument. When the mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole does not perform online real-time detection on
the in-situ reaction cell, the above gate valve and needle valve
can be turned off, so that both the buffer chamber and the sample
chamber are in the optimal vacuum state.
[0038] In summary, the solution of the present invention has the
following special designs for the hardware and the requirements to
ensure the regular operation of the in-situ reaction cell of the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument:
[0039] 1. on the basis of the mass spectrum gas composition
sampling and analysis scheme disclosed in the prior patent
solution, in view of the special requirements of the instrument in
the present invention, the advantage of using the special stainless
steel capillary on the pipeline connection of the prior patent
solution is utilized to achieve the direct pressure transition
between the high pressure in-situ reaction cell and the ultra-high
vacuum characterization instrument, and the distance between the
capillary and the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument is
minimized through the vacuum connection;
[0040] 2. the hardware devices of the original instrument is fully
utilized, and two turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump sets and a
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole are shared with the ultra-high
vacuum characterization instrument, which accounts for 90% or more
of the hardware cost required by the adopted mass spectrometry gas
sampling and analysis scheme disclosed in the prior patent
solution;
[0041] 3. it is a modular design that still retains the original
operation structure of the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument after completing performing the extending and expanding
the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole online sampling and
detection function to the interconnected in-situ reaction cell, and
does not affect the use of any factory functions; and
[0042] 4. it is also the modular design that the main component of
the present invention, i.e., the transition gas path part from the
in-situ reaction cell to the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole,
is independently installed outside the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument, and one flange adapter is changed only
on each of the two vacuum chambers that allow the pressure to reach
1 bar. During installation, the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument does not need to be shut down, and the main
instrumentation chamber is not subjected to vacuum breakdown.
[0043] By means of the above special designs, the present invention
has achieved the following effects:
[0044] 1. when the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole performs
gas sampling and composition analysis on the interconnected in-situ
reaction cell, its sampling time delay is negligible and the
sampling analysis requirements for in-situ analysis, continuity,
real-time and high time resolution, are met;
[0045] 2. under the operation conditions of the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument, the present invention not only retains
the original spectroscopy/imaging function and adds accurate
information on the gas composition of the reaction/growth simulated
environment obtained during the simultaneous preparation of the
in-situ reaction cell, but also, on the basis of the original
measurement range of 10.sup.-10 to 10.sup.-5 mbar of the built-in
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole, further expands the range
covering 1 to 10 bar, which expands the device functions;
[0046] 3. by means of real-time mass spectrometry analysis, the
accurate inspection and control of the steady state composition and
partial pressure ratio for operation requirement of are provided
for the in-situ reaction cell, and meanwhile, the real-time mass
spectrometry analysis with a high time resolution confirms the
accuracy of controlling during rapid switching of the upstream gas
source used in the experiment;
[0047] 4. the present invention saves the cost, and not only does
the present invention exceed the commercial ambient pressure mass
spectrometer in tested technical specifications, but the required
cost is less than 10% of the latter;
[0048] 5. the installation space is minimized; and
[0049] 6. the expansion and extension of the device functions will
not affect the realization of any function of the original
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument, and the installation
does not require the main instrumentation chamber to be shut
down.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0050] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a layout structure in the
prior art of an ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument
interconnected with an in-situ reaction cell;
[0051] FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of a coupling structure of a UHV
characterization instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell
and a built-in mass spectrometer electro quadrupole according to
the present invention; and
[0052] FIG. 3 is an example of a sampling signal of the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0053] In order to make the present invention more obvious and
understandable, the preferred embodiments are described in detail
with reference to the drawings as follows.
[0054] As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention provides a
coupling structure of a UHV characterization
instrument-interconnected in-situ reaction cell and a built-in mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole. According to the prior patent
solution, it is necessary to complete performing sampling from the
in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline 9 by the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole 7. In order to use the original
configuration hardware of the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument to achieve this assembly scheme, first of all, it is
necessary to change the original two vacuum flanges of the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument to flange adapters,
which are two vacuum interfaces required for real-time sampling in
the prior patent solution. Modification of first flange: the nipple
flange 10 that connects the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7
and the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument is changed to
the first tee flange 12. Modification of second flange: one idle
flange port on the vacuum buffer chamber 2 is changed to the
ferrule tube to flange adapter 13 (the one idle flange port on the
vacuum buffer chamber 2 may also be adapted to a ferrule tube
having a larger diameter than that of this preferred embodiments).
The remaining pipeline connections can all be completed outside the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument. The stainless steel
capillary 14 is connected to the in-situ reaction cell gas output
pipeline 9 to form a sampling port, and the sampling port is
protected by the 1/16'' ball valve 15. A sampling gasline is
divided into two gas paths, wherein, one gas path enters the vacuum
buffer chamber 2 by connecting with the ferrule tube to flange
adapter 13 through the bonnet needle valve 16 (low flow control
ratio) as a differential gas path in the prior patent solution; and
the other gas path enters the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole
7 by connecting with the first tee flange 12 through the high
precision metering needle valve 17 (high flow control ratio) for
analysis and sampling.
[0055] When the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7 does not
need to sample the independent in-situ reaction cell 1, the second
gate valve 18 is turned off, and the sample chamber 5 and a main
chamber of the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument
connected with the sample chamber 5 are completely unaffected by
the expanded and extended sampling part. Meanwhile, the 1/16'' ball
valve 15 is turned off, and the vacuum of the expanded and extended
sampling part newly added is preserved by the vacuum buffer chamber
2. Moreover, the vacuum level of the vacuum buffer chamber 2 itself
will not be affected.
[0056] In the solution of FIG. 2, by means of the pipeline design
of the present invention, the existing main hardware devices, i.e.
the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7, the first turbo
molecular pump-mechanical pump set 3 and the second turbo molecular
pump-mechanical pump set 8 form a topological structure
relationship completely consistent with the prior patent solution,
so that the online analysis of the gas composition during the
preparation process in the independent in-situ reaction cell 1 is
realized by means of the in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline
9 through these hardware devices. Specifically, the first turbo
molecular pump-mechanical pump set 3 actually plays the role of the
differential pump set in the prior patent solution. When the
pressure of the independent in-situ reaction cell 1 is relatively
high, the split flow of the sampled gas flow to the first turbo
molecular pump-mechanical pump set 3 can be increased by adjusting
the bonnet needle valve 16, and the high precision metering needle
valve 17 is cooperatively adjusted, so that even if the independent
in-situ reaction cell 1 is at the maximum pressure of 10 bar, the
pressure next to the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7 will be
stably controlled at 10.sup.-6 mbar or less. This ensures that any
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument is quickly restored
to the background pressure of 10.sup.-10 mbar after this
characterization operation is completed.
[0057] If the vacuum buffer chamber 2 does not have the idle
flange, the flange 11 with a viewport for monitoring sample
transfer may be changed to the second tee flange of the same
diameter, the flange with the viewport for monitoring sample
transfer is retained in the straight-through direction, and one
idle flange port is purposingly added in the non-straight-through
direction of the second tee flange which is newly added to complete
the modification of the above second flange port. In order to
cooperate with the vacuum interconnecting transfer device 4 to
transfer a sample in the vacuum buffer chamber 2, a plurality of
observation windows must be equipped, and thus the position of the
ferrule tube to flange adapter 13 is guaranteed.
[0058] The above ferrule tube to flange adapter 13 is required to
be adapted to a stainless steel pipeline with an outer diameter of
1/4 inch or larger.
[0059] The following is an example of upgrading and modifying an
XPS analysis device equipped with a vacuum interconnected in-situ
reaction cell to further illustrate the present invention.
[0060] The XPS analysis device is purchased from ThermoFisher of
model ESCA 250Xi; both the vacuum interconnection device and the
independent in-situ reaction cell 1 are purchased from Fermi
Instruments, wherein the model of the independent in-situ reaction
cell 1 is HPGC 300; the model of the mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole 7 is SRS300; and both the models of two turbo molecular
pump-mechanical pump sets are Edward. Specifically, because the
molecular pump is configured according to the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument, the pumping speed of the molecular
pumps are greater than 200 L, which is much higher than the pumping
speed required by the prior patent solution. This is the normal
situation of the configuration of the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument, and thus the sampling control result
obtained by the present invention patent in a practical application
is better than the embodiment of the prior patent solution. In the
implementation of mass spectrometry signal acquisition, the
pressure of the sample chamber 5 is always stabilized at a set
value of 10.sup.-6 mbar or less, while a stable and clear signal
for the gas composition with a content of 1 ppm still exists under
the condition of 10.sup.-8 mbar. FIG. 3 shows a sampling signal of
a very short helium pulse next to the in-situ reaction cell gas
output pipeline 9 obtained by the mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole 7, and there is no obvious time delay (which is far less
than the sampling interval of the mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole) between its corresponding time and the occurrence time
of the helium pulse. In an actual operation, by adjusting the flow
ratio of the sampling signal through the bonnet needle valve 16 and
the high precision metering needle valve 17, the mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole 7 has a sensitive signal response to the
independent in-situ reaction cell 1 under a vacuum condition of
0.01 bar to a medium-high pressure condition of 10 bar, which
exceeds the design requirement of the pressure of 1 to 10 bar in
the sampling area. After the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7
completes performing sampling from the independent in-situ reaction
cell 1, the 1/16'' ball valve 15 and the second gate valve 18 are
separately turned off, and the vacuum buffer chamber 2 and the
sample chamber 5 are restored to an optimal vacuum background
within a few minutes.
[0061] In the present embodiment, the connection between all the
hardware devices and the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument conforms to the structure of FIG. 1.
[0062] In the connection of the expanded and extended sampling
pipelines of the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7, the 1/16''
ball valve 15, the bonnet needle valve 16, the high precision
metering needle valve 17 and the pipeline fittings connected to
them all employ domestic valves, which are mainly purchased from
Shanghai X-tec Fluid Technology Co., Ltd. The added gate valve is
purchased from the VAT brand.
[0063] Preferably, in installation, the distance between the
capillary and the X-ray characterization instrument is minimized,
reducing the gas delay time in the pipeline, and this delayed time
relative to the dead volume of the in-situ reaction cell is
negligible.
[0064] Preferably, the stainless steel capillary 14 performs a
sampling on the in-situ reaction cell gas output pipeline 9 and is
then directly adapted to a stainless steel pipeline with an
amplified outer diameter of 1/4 inch or larger, so as to achieve
the maximum vacuum flow conductance. That is, the connection with
the mass spectrometer instrument achieves zero time delay.
[0065] Preferably, in FIG. 2, acting as the pipeline fittings of
the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7 to perform direct
sampling on the independent in-situ reaction cell 1, the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole 7, the ferrule tube to flange
adapter 13, the special stainless steel capillary pipeline 14, the
1/16'' ball valve 15, the bonnet needle valve 16, the high
precision metering needle valve 17 and the second gate valve 18 all
connect with each other to form an installation module,
facilitating the disassembly and experimental operations. The
entire installation process does not affect the overall operation
of the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument and does not
cause vacuum breakdown to the main instrumentation chamber.
[0066] Preferably, by means of the modular installation design, the
newly added sampling expanded and extended functional module of the
mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7 connects with the chambers
of the original ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument only
through the first tee flange 12 and the ferrule tube to flange
adapter 13. When the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7 does
not perform the expanded and extended sampling function for the
independent in-situ reaction cell 1, the 1/16'' ball valve 15 and
the second gate valve 18 are simply separately turned off, so that
the vacuum buffer chamber 2 and the sample chamber 5 are restored
to the work structure before modification, and the newly added
sampling expanded and extended functional module is also under the
protection of ultra-high vacuum.
[0067] Preferably, on the basis of the prior patent solution, the
bonnet needle valve 16 and the high precision metering needle valve
17 are used to regulate the split flow of the sampled gas flow. In
combination with the advantage of the large pumping speed and the
good vacuum background owned by the molecular pump of the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument, it is realized that
when the mass spectrometer electro quadrupole 7 performs direct
sampling from the independent in-situ reaction cell 1 (1 to 10
bar), the pressure of the sample chamber 5 is always stabilized at
the set value of 10.sup.-6 mbar or less, and up to 10.sup.-8 mbar
there is still a stable and clear signal for the gas component with
a concentration of 1 ppm.
[0068] Preferably, by means of the pipeline design of the present
invention, a direct vacuum transition from the independent in-situ
reaction cell 1 (1 to 10 bar) to the mass spectrometer electro
quadrupole 7 (10.sup.-8-10.sup.-6 mbar) is realized. After the mass
spectrometer electro quadrupole 7 completes direct sampling from
the independent in-situ reaction cell 1, the vacuum buffer chamber
2 and the sample chamber 5 are restored to the optimal vacuum
background within a few minutes.
[0069] Preferably, by means of the pipeline design, the important
hardware devices of the original ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument is fully utilized, including the mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole 7, the second turbo molecular pump-mechanical
pump set 8 and the first turbo molecular pump-mechanical pump set
3, which account for 90% or more of the hardware cost of the prior
patent solution, greatly saving the device costs.
[0070] In summary, based on the characteristics of the devices, the
present invention provides an online mass spectrometry sampling and
analysis function for the in-situ reaction cell of the ultra-high
vacuum characterization instrument at an extremely low cost,
expands the analysis capability of the built-in mass spectrometer
electro quadrupole of the ultra-high vacuum characterization
instrument to a gas reaction environment of 1 to 10 bar, and
completely covers the accuracy requirements corresponding to
pressure and gas composition range of the in-situ reaction cell of
the ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument. The sampling
part meets: (i) the requirement of real-time sampling, no time
delay, and sensitive response to the acquisition of trace pulses;
(ii) the pressure range of the in-situ reaction cell of the
ultra-high vacuum characterization instrument, that is, the upper
limit requirement of the medium-high pressure, and (iii) the
original operation requirements of the ultra-high vacuum
characterization instrument without changing its basic structure
when the extension and expansion function is implemented. Moreover,
the sampling part is easy to install, small in volume, clear in
module design, and does not affect the use of other functions of
the original instrument and personnel action, which is also helpful
for monitoring other similar related environments or fundamental
research on chemical engineering reaction.
* * * * *