US 2019/0161859 A1Published application

Apparatus for making large-scale atomic layer deposition on powdered materials with plowing action

OwnerYing-Bing Jiang, Hongxia Zhanginventors

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Abstract

Apparatus for making atomic layer deposition on powdered materials is provided. Inside a vacuum deposition chamber, a stationary but tilted pan-shaped vessel, or non-stationary pan-shaped vessel that is doing tilting movement continuously or intermittently, is used to accommodate powdered samples. A plowing device with teeth or blades is positioned above the pan-shaped vessel, configured to make rotary or sliding movement so as to make plowing actions to the powdered samples, thereby agitate the powdered samples on the pan-shaped vessel. A flattening structure is positioned above the pan-shaped vessel, configured to make rotary or sliding movement, thereby even out the distribution of the powdered samples. The apparatus may comprise multiple pan-shaped vessels or multiple vacuum chambers.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An apparatus for coatings or modifying surfaces of powdered materials comprising:

a. a vacuum deposition chamber that is air-tight;
and
b. a pan-shaped vessel inside the vacuum deposition chamber that is configured to accommodate powdered materials, wherein the interior bottom surface of the pan-shaped-vessel may or may not be exactly flat and smooth;
and
c. a plowing device inside the vacuum deposition chamber and positioned above the pan-shaped-vessel, wherein:
1) the plowing device comprises at least a beam and many teeth or blades at the bottom side of the beam;
and 2) the plowing device comprises a rotation axis that is configured to facilitate a rotary movement of the plowing device, the rotary movement is parallel to the interior bottom surface of pan-shaped vessel;
or, the plowing device comprises a sliding axis that is configured to facilitate a linear movement of the plowing device, the linear movement is parallel to the interior bottom surface of the pan-shaped vessel;
and 3) the gap between the interior bottom surface of the pan-shaped vessel and the teeth or the blades of plowing device is within the range of 0-10 mm, or configured to be adjustable to be in the range of 0-10 mm;
and
d. a gas and precursor delivery unit comprising:
1) at least one source for a vapor-phase or gas-phase reactant;
and 2) at least one automatic valve in between of the vacuum deposition chamber and the source;
and 3) at least one gas flow controlling device that is configured to regulate the gas flow rate for the gas to be introduced into the vacuum deposition chamber;
and
e. a vacuum pumping unit comprising:
1) at least one pump;
and 2) at least one valve in between of the vacuum deposition chamber and the pump;
and
f. a controller unit comprising:
1) at least one sub-unit configured to control the actions of the automatic valves;
and 2) at least one sub-unit configured to control the temperature of the powdered materials;
and 3) at least one sub-unit configured to control the mechanical movement of the plowing device.

20 more elements

An apparatus for coatings or modifying surfaces of powdered materials using multiple alternating exposure and purge steps, the apparatus comprising:

a. a vacuum deposition chamber that is air-tight;
and
b. a pan-shaped-vessel inside the vacuum deposition chamber that is configured to accommodate powdered materials;
and
c. a plowing device inside the vacuum deposition chamber and positioned above the pan-shaped-vessel, wherein:
1) the plowing device is a device that comprises at least a beam and many teeth or blades at the bottom side of the beam;
and 2) the plowing device comprises a rotation axis that is configured to facilitate a rotary movement of the plowing device, wherein the rotary movement is parallel to the interior bottom surface of pan-shaped-vessel;
and 3) the gap between the teeth or blades and the interior bottom surface of the pan-shaped vessel is within the range of 0-5 mm or configured to be adjustable to be in the range of 0-5 mm;
and 4) the gap between the bottom edge of the beam and the interior bottom surface of the pan-shaped-vessel is within the range of 5-20 mm or configured to be adjustable to be in the range of 5-20 mm;
and
d. a gas and precursor delivery unit comprising:
1) at least one source for a vapor-phase or gas-phase reactant;
and 2) at least one pneumatic or solenoid valve in between of the vacuum deposition chamber and the source;
and 3) at least one gas flow controlling device that is configured to regulate the gas flow rate for the gas to be introduced into the vacuum deposition chamber;
and
e. a vacuum pumping unit comprising:
1) at least one vacuum pump;
and 2) at least one valve in between of the vacuum deposition chamber and the vacuum pump;
and
f. a controller unit comprising:
1) at least one sub-unit configured to control the actions of the automatic valves;
and 2) at least one sub-unit configured to control the temperature of the powdered materials;
and 3) at least one sub-unit configured to control the mechanical movement of the plowing device;
and
g. An axis that is configured to facilitate continuous or intermittent tilting movement of the pan-shaped vessel.

22 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.