System for controlling the sublimation of reactants
AssigneeASM International N.V.
InventorsMarko Tuominen, Eric Shero, Mohith Verghese
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Abstract
An apparatus and method improves heating of a solid precursor inside a sublimation vessel. In one embodiment, inert, thermally conductive elements are interspersed among units of solid precursor. For example the thermally conductive elements can comprise a powder, beads, rods, fibers, etc. In one arrangement, microwave energy can directly heat the thermally conductive elements.
Claims41
A method of producing a vapor from a solid precursor for processing a substrate, comprising:
- placing solid units of precursor into a vessel;
- interspersing a thermally conductive material with the units of precursor;
- forming a vapor through applying heat energy to both the thermally conductive material and the solid units of precursor;
- and
- routing the vapor from the vessel to a reaction chamber.
A substrate processing system for forming a vapor from a solid precursor by distributing heat to the precursor, comprising:
- a vessel configured to hold units of solid precursor;
- a plurality of thermally conductive elements interspersed with the units of solid precursor;
- and
- a heater being configured to transmit heat energy to both the thermally conductive elements and the precursor.
A substrate processing system for forming a vapor from a solid precursor comprising:
- a vessel configured to hold units of solid precursor;
- and
- a microwave generator adjacent to the vessel, the generator being configured to transmit heat energy in the form of microwave energy to effectuate the heating of the precursor.
A mixture for producing a vapor used in substrate processing comprising:
- a batch of precursor for producing a substrate processing vapor;
- and
- a plurality of heat transmitting solid forms interspersed through the batch of precursor, the plurality of heat transmitting solid forms collectively increasing the thermal conductivity of the batch of precursor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.