Atomic Layer Deposition Carousel with Continuous Rotation and Methods of Use

A deposition system, comprising:

• a processing chamber having a rotatable wheel with a plurality of circumferentially distributed substrate carriers and at least one gas distribution plate having a plurality of elongate gas ports that direct flows of gases toward the substrate carriers;
• a loading station on a front end of the processing chamber, the loading station having a first robot that loads a substrate onto a substrate carrier, a second robot that unloads a processed substrate from a substrate carrier, a first buffer region accessible to the first robot and a second buffer region accessible to the second robot;
• and
• a first load lock chamber on a front end of the loading station, the first load lock chamber accessible to the first robot and a second load lock chamber on the front end of the loading station, the second load lock chamber accessible to the second robot.

A method of processing a substrate, comprising:

• rotating a wheel having a plurality of circumferentially distributed substrate carriers;
• continuously placing a substrate with a first robot in a loading station onto each substrate carrier not holding a substrate without stopping the rotating wheel;
• processing each substrate sequentially while rotating on the wheel;
• and
• continuously removing a processed substrate with a second robot in the loading station from each substrate carrier holding a substrate without stopping the rotating wheel.