Originally Posted by
mixedgas
Gas regulators designed for UHP gas service, bellows grade sealed vacuum valves, flow restrictors on each gas line on the low side so the "regulators" do not go to wide open flow into the vacuum and explode., capacitance manometers and TC Gauges. You need cold traps on your pumps and plasma traps to keep plasma out of the manifold. The whole manifold has to be baked to minimum of 250'c without ruining the gauges which need to stay cold. . Did I mention the RGA again? Cajon fittings with silver plated gaskets for all tubing.. Introducing water vapor has to be done by thermally outgassing a sorbent, spraying water into the vacuum will cause the water to instantly freeze.
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If you have spent 10k$ now, you are only half way there. My station parts came out of a bankrupt tube factory, otherwise I could have never afforded it.
The tubes I process run at 18 to 60 amps, so my setup has many differences from what you want. If your gasses do not start at 750$ a bottle, you probably have the wrong gas supplier.
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How I pulse my gasses without needle valves in took me years to perfect, that detail goes to my grave. In your case that means bellows driven micrometer needle valves and dozens of feet/meters of ultra small bore SS. gas chromatography tubing to limit flow. If your valves don't come with rebuild kits, you probably have the wrong valve.
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In your case with Chinese tubes you may need to heat the electrodes or over current the tube, which is tricky or may need an induction heater. You may need a heavy inert gas such as neon or argon to clean the tubes. You need a tube oven, too..
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So NE, Co, H2O, N2, He, co2, and maybe h20 and o2 on station. A pinch tool for metal seals is another $3200 these days.
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I had an Angel Investor who needed to learn to pump tubes. My wages for developing the project was my own station.
Pro tip: Pure nitrogen or air running on its own in a glow discharge generates large amounts of excess heat and "Nitrides" or corrodes most electrodes. For those really old tube designs your running:1
Carbone, R. J., IEEE J. Quant El, QE-3, 373, 1967.
Carbone, R. J. IEEE J. Quant El, QE-4, 102, 1968.
Steve