Film forming apparatus and film forming method

Abstract

A thin film formation apparatus that introduces, in a first operational phase thereof, a source gas into a processing vessel capable of being evacuated and accommodating a substrate to be processed, and forms a thin film on the substrate by causing a reaction in the introduced source gas. The apparatus comprises a source gas producing part producing the source gas by vaporizing a source material of solid or liquid, a source gas supplying path forwarding the source gas produced in the source gas producing part to the processing vessel, a first open/close valve provided on the source gas supplying path, the first open/close valve taking an opened state in the first operational phase, and a carrier gas supply part supplying a carrier gas to the source gas producing part such that the source gas fills a part of the source gas supplying path at an upstream side of the first open/close valve and the source gas producing part with a quantity exceeding a predetermined value, immediately before the first open/close valve becoming an opened state.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.