Deposition system and method using a delivery head separated from a substrate by gas pressure

1. A process for depositing a thin film material on a substrate, comprising:

providing a substrate having a surface into a thin film deposition system, the thin film deposition system having a delivery head with an associated output face for providing a series of gas flows, wherein a separation distance between the output face and the surface of the substrate is adjustable by adjusting one or more of the gas flows;

simultaneously directing the series of gas flows from the output face of the delivery head during thin film deposition system toward the surface of a substrate, the series of gas flows comprising at least a first reactive gaseous material, an inert purge gas, and a second reactive gaseous material, wherein the first reactive gaseous material is capable of reacting with a substrate surface treated with the second reactive gaseous material;

providing relative motion between the delivery head and the substrate such that the surface of the substrate is exposed to the first reactive gaseous material, the inert purge gas and the second reactive gaseous material for thin film deposition; and

maintaining a substantially uniform separation distance between the output face of the delivery head and the surface of the substrate during thin film deposition using a pressure provided by one or more of the gas flows.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the gas flows are provided from a series of open elongated output channels, substantially in parallel, wherein the output face of the delivery head is spaced within 1 mm of the surface of the substrate subject to deposition.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the substrate is treated by a plurality of delivery heads spaced apart.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein a given area of the substrate is exposed to the gas flow of the first reactive gaseous material for less than about 500 milliseconds at a time.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the gas flow of at least one of the reactive gases is at least 1 sccm.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the temperature of the substrate during deposition is under 300° C.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein the first reactive gaseous material is a metal-containing compound and the second reactive gaseous material is a non-metallic compound.

8. The process of claim 7 wherein the metal is an element of Group II, III, IV, V, or VI of the Periodic Table.

9. The process of claim 7 wherein the metal-containing compound is an organometallic compound that can be vaporized at a temperature under 300° C.

10. The process of claim 7 wherein the metal-containing reactive gaseous material reacts with the non-metallic reactive gaseous material to form an oxide or sulfide material selected from the group consisting of tantalum pentoxide, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, niobium pentoxide, zirconium oxide, hafnium oxide, zinc oxide, lanthium oxide, yttrium oxide, cerium oxide, vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide, manganese oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide, tungsten oxide, silicon dioxide, zinc sulfide, strontium sulfide, calcium sulfide, lead sulfide, and mixtures thereof.

11. The process of claim 1 wherein the process is used to make a semiconductor or dielectric thin film on a substrate, for use in a transistor, wherein the thin film comprises a metal-oxide-based material, the process comprising forming on a substrate, at a temperature of 300° C. or less, at least one layer of a metal-oxide-based material, wherein the metal-oxide-based material is a reaction product of at least two reactive gases, a first reactive gas comprising an organometallic precursor compound and a second reactive gas comprising a reactive oxygen-containing gaseous material.

12. The process of claim 1 wherein a surface of the substrate is placed at a distance of under 1 mm from the output face of the delivery head.

13. The process of claim 12 wherein the distance is less than 0.5 mm.

14. The process of claim 1 wherein the relative motion between the delivery head and the substrate is provided by a substrate support or an actuator attached to the delivery head, or both.

15. The process of claim 1 , wherein the step of providing the relative motion between the delivery head and the substrate by further comprises providing the delivery head with an oscillating motion, optionally an oscillating motion that is orthogonal to the length direction of an output channel of the delivery head.

16. The process of claim 1 further comprising moving the substrate along the output face of the delivery head, optionally continuously in one direction.

17. The process of claim 1 wherein the surface area of the substrate for thin-film material deposition exceeds the surface area of the output face of the delivery head.

18. The process of claim 1 wherein the substrate is at a separation distance of within 0.3 mm of the output face of the delivery head.

19. The process of claim 1 wherein the flow of gaseous material in a first, a second, and a third output channel is substantially continuous during the deposition operation.

20. The process of claim 1 wherein the substrate and the delivery head are open to the atmosphere.

21. The process of claim 1 for thin film deposition onto a substrate further comprising a conveyer for moving a web past the output face of the delivery head to effect thin film deposition over an area of the substrate, wherein the web either supports an additional substrate or is the substrate for the thin film deposition, wherein the substrate is in close proximity to the output face of the delivery head and wherein, during operation of the process, the conveyer for the web or an actuator for the delivery head, or both, is capable of providing relative movement between the output face and the substrate while maintaining close proximity.

22. The process of claim 1 , further comprising providing an air bearing between the delivery head and the substrate, wherein the pressure contributes to at least a portion of said air bearing.