.

LEAK
DETECTION

Introduction

Ideal vacuum chamber

What would an IDEAL vacuum chamber look
like?
Stable wall surfaces
NO leaks
only source of gas is the gas delivery system(process
in the chamber)

In a REAL vacuum system, there can be other

sources of gas besides the gas delivery
system.
What problems can these other gas sources
cause?
significantly increase the pump down time.
contaminants in the system.

Leak in vacuum systems

Loading the unwanted gasses to the vacuum
system and then pressure increasing in the
system is known as leak.
Leak a big problems in vacuum techniques and
leak detection is a big challenge .
In practice there are two main aspect of leak
detection:
(1) Testing the components and
(2) Testing completed systems

Types of leaks
There are 2 kinds of leak in the vacuum system
(1): Real leak
When the gasses passes from atmosphere into the vacuum
system
(2) Virtual leak
When the gasses or vapors load or deliver to the system by
(a) Desorption the gasses from chamber`s wall and
components
(b) Trapped spaces

Gas Sources
The three main ways that undesired gasses
can get into a vacuum system and the
pressures increases:
Leaks( Vertual leak and Real leak)
Outgassing
Backstreaming

Gas Sources
Leaks (Real)
a crack or hole in the vacuum
system drawing molecules
from the surrounding
atmosphere into the work
chamber
dirty/worn/damaged/impro
perly-seated seals (90%+)
cracked or porous welds
cracks or flaws in the
chamber walls
loose components such as
feed-throughts
the migration of gas through
the wall material or O-ring

Gas Sources
Leaks (Virtual)

apparent leaks
caused by release of
trapped gas inside
the system
threaded fastener
cavity
flange
connections and
contacts
Vented screws are
used to eliminate
virtual leaks.

Gas Sources
Outgassing: the natural
evolution of species
inside the chamber, at
low pressure,
contributing to the gas
load
Sublimation of solid
chamber surfaces
Desorption from the walls
of physically adsorbed
molecules
Out-Diffusion of gas that
has been absorbed into
the grain boundaries of
the metal
Vaporization of liquids or
solids in the chamber

Gas Sources
When is outgassing likely to occur?
after chamber clean
after being open to atmosphere
The polar nature of water molecules causes them to
persistently adsorb to chamber surfaces in many layers
due to hydrogen bonding. These layers can take a very
long time to outgas.

How can outgassing be reduced?

Wear gloves during cleaning
fingerprints are disastrous to a vacuum system!
ONE fingerprint can take several hours to outgas
in a high vacuum system!
Thoroughly remove all liquids and residues before
closing
use correct materials for seals, cleaning, etc.

How does vapor pressure affect outgassing?

Gas Sources
Backstreaming:
an ideal pump only removes molecules and does not
give any back
real pumps repeat some gasses back into the
system
oil from diffusion pumps and rotary vane pumps
oil-based pumping systems are designed with
anti-suckback valves, and cold traps to
minimize backstreaming
this is the primary reason for the gradual
replacement of oil-based pumps with dry
pumps

Gas Sources
Diffusion

Permeation
Real
Leaks

Outgassing

Virtual
Backstreaming

Trapped Volumes

Vented Screw

Double O ring sealed shafts

Atmosphere
(760 torr)

Vacuum

Real leak and virtual leak curves

.
P

t
Real leak

Virtual leak

t
Leak present in
vacuum system

Methods of leak detection

There is two methods for detection of the
leak: searching gas is inside (I) or out side
(O) the system
Searching gas

out

P in>p out

gauge

in

Pin<p out

(O)

Searching gas
Chamber

leak

detector

(I)

Soap bubbles
.
leak
He
or
Air

Soap bubbles

(I)

It is possible to obtain higher sensitivities

using liquids of lower surface tension

Discharge tube Test

.

leak
chamber

Discharge Tube

pump

Day spray Test

Dye spray

leak

pump

Spark Test
.
spark

Probe

pump

Palladium
barrier leak
detector

Vacuum chamber
H2

Plalladium
plaet
Thermal
cathode

+
Thermal
cathode

Halogen detector
.

filament
Platinum plate

Vacuum
chamber
Halogen gasses

Leak covering by tape

Leak covering (O)
H

leak

tape
leak

A suspected leak can

be covered over with
a tape .
If a leak present then
a fall of pressure will
be observed.

Using thermal conductivity gauge as a leak

detector (trace gas detection)

Carbon
dioxide

Thermal
conductivity
gages

As the thermal conductivity varies for

different gases, an apparent change in the
pressure is seen when different gasses is
directed over the leak
Useful gas: Helium, Oxygen, Argon, CO2

Using Ionisation gauge and Ion pump as a

leak detector
The ion gauge current and ion pump current dependent
on the gas properties.
Chang in the ion current can be seen by using different
tape of gasses or liquids over the suspected leak.
Useful safe gasses are: He, Co2, Ar
Useful safe liquids are Aceton, isopropyle alchohol

Using Mass spectrometers as a

leak detector
Mass spectrometers is a excellent leak
detector.
leak

Helium Leak Methods

Sniffing Test (O)
Mass spectrometer

He

chamber
He
He source

Mass spectrometer film

Helium Leak Methods

Sniffing Test (I)

He
Chamber

ALCATEL

SIMS 180TD+

Leak rate
Leak rate is measured by standard cubic
centimeter/sec (std. cc/sec).
Although the leak rate in vacuum system
is very low, but it is a big challenge in the
vacuum techniques.

Leak rate of 1 x 10 std cc/sec

-1

Leak rate of 1 x 10-3 std cc/sec

Leak Rates over Time

LEAK RATES
10 -1 STD CC/SEC --- 1 CC/10 SEC
10 -3 STD CC/SEC --- 3 CC/HOUR
10 -5 STD CC/SEC --- 1 CC/DAY
10 -6 STD CC/SEC --- 1 CC/2 WEEKS
10 -7 STD CC/SEC --- 3 CC/YEAR
10 -9 STD CC/SEC --- 1 CC/30 YEARS

Permeation may occur

<1X10-8 std cc/sec

Why Helium is used for leak

detection

HELIUM

Helium is very light and small

Low concentration in air (0.0005%)
Permits dynamic testing
Permits non-destructive testing
Helium is safe

Why Helium?
Low Background (5-20 PPM)
Inert
F
Safe
Light
Low Cost

Ne
Ar

H
O

Kr

Cl

He

?
N

Xe

Why A Helium Leak Detector?

High Sensitivity
Wide Range
Reliable
Quantitative
Dynamic Testing

SIMS 180TD+

Helium Leak Testing: Vacuum Mode

The hard vacuum test procedure measures the

packages increasing leak rate arising from all sources
within the sample.
This method enables the barrier performance of seals to
be quantified.

Helium Test Methods

Hard Vacuum
Helium Pre-Filled Samples
1E-2 mbar

This method
is good for
vacuum
equipments
leak testing

SIMS

180TD+

Helium Leak Testing: Sniffer Mode

Individual packages containing helium can be checked for leaks

using a pencil-sized vacuum collector (sniffer) attached to a
helium leak detector.

The rate of gas sampling (flow rate) is set at 1cc/second; enabling

a (ambient pressure) leak rate to be measured in ppm, or in
cc/second.

The sniffer mode test procedure is site-specific in that the probe

collects helium escaping within ~ 1/8 of the leak site.

Helium Leak Methods

Sniffing Test

He
100%
He

ALCATEL

SIMS 180TD+

This method is good for

package`s leaks

Answer this question before taking any

further actions for solving leak problems
1-Has the pressure in the system changes since yesterday?
2-can any section of the vacuum system be isolated?
3-Has the gauge calibration been checked?
4-Are there any vapors present?
5-Has a real leak been established even though not found?
6-Can you tolerate the leak that has been established?
7-Have you used some different type of cleaning material after the last
exposure to the atmosphere?
8-Have you add to or modified the interior of the vacuum system?
9-Is there any evidence of an air leak from an RGA spectrum with
peaks corresponding to masses 14, 28, 32?