A Si-Micromachined 162-Stage Two-Part Knudsen Pump for On-Chip Vacuum

This paper investigates a two-part architecture for a Knudsen vacuum pump with no moving parts. This type of pump exploits the thermal transpiration that results from the free-molecular flow in nonisothermal channels. For a high compression ratio, 162 stages are serially cascaded. The two-part architecture uses 54 stages designed for the pressure range from 760 to ≈ 50 Torr, and 108 stages designed for lower pressures. This approach provides greater compression ratio and speed than using a uniform design for each stage. Finite element simulations and analytical design analysis are presented. A five-mask single-wafer fabrication process is used for monolithic integration of the Knudsen pump that has a footprint of 12 × 15 mm². The pressure levels of each stage are measured by integrated Pirani gauges. Experimental evaluation shows that, using an input power of ≈ 0.39 W, the evacuated chamber is reduced from 760 to ≈ 0.9 Torr, resulting in a compression ratio of ≈ 844. The vacuum levels are sustained during 37 days of continuous operation.