Apparatus and method for high-throughput atomic layer deposition

An atomic layer deposition apparatus, comprising:

• a first, lower wall;
• a second, upper wall parallel to the first wall and spaced apart from the first wall;
• two side walls connecting the first and the second wall at lateral sides thereof;
• and
• a transport system configured to support and move a train of substrates or a continuous substrate in tape form, from an entrance of the process tunnel, along the transport direction, to an exit of the process tunnel;
• wherein the first wall, the second wall and the two side walls bound a process tunnel configured to allow a substantially flat substrate, oriented parallel to said first and second walls, to be accommodated in the process tunnel leaving a first narrow gap between an upper side of the substrate and the second wall and a second narrow gap between a lower side of the substrate and the first wall, the process tunnel having a longitudinal direction which, in use, is a transport direction of the substrate in the process tunnel, and the process tunnel having a lateral direction that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and parallel to the first and second walls, the first wall defining a lower, innermost boundary of the process tunnel and the second wall defining an upper, innermost boundary of the process tunnel,
• wherein both the first wall and the second wall of the process tunnel are provided with a plurality of gas injection channels,
• wherein outflow openings of said plurality of gas injection channels are distributed over respective inner-most surfaces of the first and second walls in a spaced apart manner both along the transport direction and in the lateral direction, said plurality of gas injection channels being configured to inject gas into the process tunnel over the whole length of the tunnel so as to form gas bearings for floatingly supporting the substrate,
• wherein a plurality of gas exits are provided at both of the two side walls and configured to exhaust gas from tunnel space regions between both lateral edges of the substrate and the respective side walls,
• wherein gas injection channels of the plurality of gas injection channels which are located in the first wall, viewed in the transport direction, are connected successively to a first precursor gas source, a first purge gas source, a second precursor gas source and a second purge gas source respectively, so as to create a tunnel segment that, in use, comprises, in succession along the transport direction, laterally extending zones containing a first precursor gas, a first purge gas, a second precursor gas and a second purge gas, respectively,
• wherein two or more of such tunnel segments are disposed in succession in the transport direction;
• wherein positions of the plurality of gas injection channels and positions of the plurality of gas exits are configured to provide that said gases in said laterally extending zones flow substantially in the lateral direction towards the plurality of gas exits;
• and
• wherein the laterally extending zone containing the first purge gas and the laterally extending zone containing the second purge gas are configured to facilitate lateral gas flow velocities so as to create gas phase diffusion barriers that keep the first and the second precursor gases separated.