Granted Patent B2

US 12,516,413 · App. 17/682,058 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Inventor: Antti Juhani Niskanen (Helsinki, FI)

Assignee: ASM IP Holding B.V.

C23C16/45544C23C16/4401C23C16/4412C23C16/45502C23C16/45536C23C16/52C23C16/54H01J37/32449H01J37/32477H01J37/32743H01J37/32788H01J2237/332

Abstract

Claims (23)

1 . A gas-phase chemical reactor comprising:

a reaction chamber for processing a substrate;

a load/unload chamber comprising an opening to receive the substrate;

a valve actuatable to seal the opening;

a susceptor having a top surface to receive the substrate, wherein the susceptor is moveable within the load/unload chamber, and wherein a top surface of the susceptor defines at least a portion of a bottom section of the reaction chamber when the substrate is in a processing position; and,

a vacuum source for evacuating the load/unload chamber;

wherein the reactor comprises a controller for controlling a precursor delivery process and an evacuation process, the controller comprising a memory being programmed to enable the controller to execute the following steps:

while the susceptor is in the processing position, providing a precursor to the reaction chamber, ceasing the flow of the precursor to the reaction chamber, and retaining the precursor within the reaction chamber for a soak period where the reaction chamber is not directly purged during the soak period, while evacuating the load/unload chamber with the vacuum source, whereby a pressure within the reaction chamber is greater than a pressure within the load/unload chamber during the soak period, wherein an amount of the precursor continues to rise for a period of time and then remains substantially constant during the soak period, and

after the soak period, evacuating the reaction chamber by moving the susceptor into the load/unload chamber.

2 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the reaction chamber is isolated from the load/unload chamber during the soak period.

3 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , comprising a tortuous path between reaction chamber and load/unload chamber.

4 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the controller causes the amount of the precursor within the reaction chamber to rise for a period of time prior to the soak period.

5 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein during the soak period, the reaction chamber operates non-isothermally.

6 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the soak period begins after a flow of the precursor to the reaction chamber ceases, and wherein a pressure within the reaction chamber increases during the soak period.

7 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , further comprising a guide on a top interior surface of the load/unload chamber vertically above the opening to direct a flow of gas from the reaction chamber to the load/unload chamber, wherein the guide is at least one of curved or slanted and is oriented to direct the flow of gas away from the valve.

8 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein a duration of the soak period is between about 1 second to about 60 seconds.

9 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , further comprising a remote plasma unit coupled to the reaction chamber.

10 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the memory is further programmed to enable the controller to execute repeating the steps of providing the precursor and evacuating the reaction chamber.

11 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the memory is further programmed to enable the controller to execute after evacuating the reaction chamber, while the susceptor is in the processing position, provide a second precursor to the reaction chamber.

12 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , further comprising a gas distribution apparatus.

13 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , further comprising a protective shield within the load/unload chamber and moving concurrently and in a like direction with the valve wherein the protective shield comprises external dimensions larger than the valve to wholly cover the valve during the evacuating of the reaction chamber.

14 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 1 , further comprising a liner within the load/unload chamber.

15 . The gas-phase chemical reactor of claim 14 , further comprising a condenser plate within the load/unload chamber.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)