Vacuum Chamber use in Solar Energy Research

Vacuum Chamber use in Solar Energy Research 01
Vacuum Chamber use in Solar Energy Research 01
This vacuum chamber was built to perform Solar energy research on Photovoltaic Cells. We had some constrains with regards to the outside dimensions of the chamber. As you can see, it could not be too tall because it had to fit into our clients assembly jig. We therefore removed our standard lid handles and machined the handles themselves right into the acrylic chamber lid. Concurrently, we also removed our 3-Port Plate that houses the vacuum valve, the venting valve, and the vacuum gauge and moved each of them to the side wall of vacuum chamber. Finally, a way to connect electrical signals and power to the interior of the vacuum chamber from the outside, while the Solar Cell is under vacuum, was to provide an electrical feedthrough. This electrical power feedthrough was placed on the opposite wall of the vent valve, vacuum valve, and vacuum gauge.

As you can tell, there is a square and large window made from Quartz Glass coupled to the lid. The reason Quartz was used is because acrylic has limiting optical transmission properties - it does not transmit light at all in the Ultra Violet spectrum. Most of the time, this is not critical; however, in some applications, such as photovoltaics and solar power research, the transmission properties of the vacuum chamber wall become vital. Keep in mind that Ultraviolet Transmitting Acrylic does exist, but in our situation, it was not cost effective, and it did not provide replacement options.

You can read more about Ultraviolet Transmitting Acrylic Here: Optical Transmission Properties of Acrylic

One of the advantages is also the option that our client has to remove the 6 inches by 6 inch Quartz Window and replace it with any other material with various optical transmission properties. All that needs to be done is loosen the bolts that are fastening the Window Holding Plate, made from 6061 Aluminum, remove it, remove the Glass, and replace this viewport with another Window made from a different material with different optical transmission properties such as Sapphire Glass, Borosilicate, Pyrex, etc.

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Vacuum Bubble Emission ASTM 3078 Leak Testing Systems
Bubble Emission (ASTM 3078) Leak Testing Systems are instruments that are used during the Quality Control process discover and locate leaks or seal integrity failures. Leaks are detected by submerging the specimen into a tank of water, applying a vacuum, and inspecting the submersed specimen for bubble emission. Our Bubble Leak Testing Systems are designed and built to conform to the ASTM D3078 protocol standard.
Ethernet Vacuum Feedthroughs
Ethernet Vacuum Feedthroughs are Vacuum Rated Ethernet connectors that enable you to run ethernet cables into your vacuum chamber. Simply connect your ethernet connector to the outside of the vacuum chamber and another ethernet cord from the inside and run it into your part present inside your vacuum chamber.
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This is a custom acrylic vacuum chamber build for a high volume manufacturer of parts which are fabricated using vacuum extrusion techniques. The challenge was to build a vacuum chamber system which mated on two perpendicular surfaces; on the bottom and on the rear of the chamber. This was accomplished by incorporating a double gasket mechanism on the bottom and incorporating a clamping mechanism on the rear.
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