Storage and delivery system for gaseous hydride, halide, and organometallic group V compounds

A process for supplying a gas, comprising:

• providing a storage and dispensing vessel containing a solid-phase physical sorbent medium having a physically sorptive affinity for said gas;
• physically sorptively loading said gas on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium as a sorbate gas, to yield a sorbate gas-loaded physical sorbent medium;
• and
• selectively desorbing at least a portion of said sorbate gas from the sorbate gas-loaded physical sorbent medium, by reduced pressure desorption, for dispensing thereof;
• wherein the solid-phase physical sorbent medium concentration of trace components selected from the group consisting of water, metals, and oxidic transition metal species, based on the weight of the physical sorbent medium, is insufficient to cause decomposition of the sorbate gas resulting in more than a 10% rise in interior pressure after 1 week at 25.degree. C. in said storage and dispensing vessel.

An adsorption-desorption process for storage and dispensing of boron trifluoride, said process comprising:

• providing a storage and dispensing vessel containing a solid-phase physical sorbent medium having a physically sorptive affinity for boron trifluoride;
• physically sorptively loading boron trifluoride on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium, to yield a boron trifluoride-loaded physical sorbent medium;
• and
• selectively desorbing at least a portion of said boron trifluoride from the boron trifluoride-loaded physical sorbent medium, by reduced pressure desorption, for dispensing thereof.

A process for storage and dispensing of a gas sorbable on a solid-phase physical sorbent medium, said process comprising:

• providing a storage and dispensing vessel holding a solid-phase physical sorbent medium;
• adsorbing said gas on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium to yield said gas adsorbed on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium, at an interior pressure in said storage and dispensing vessel;
• establishing, exteriorly of said storage and dispensing vessel, a pressure below said interior pressure, to effect desorption of at least a portion of said gas from the solid-phase physical sorbent medium as desorbed gas, and flowing said desorbed gas out of the storage and dispensing vessel;
• cryopumping the desorbed gas from the storage and dispensing vessel to a predetermined pressure, wherein said predetermined pressure is higher than the pressure of the desorbed gas flowed out of the storage and dispensing vessel.

An adsorption-desorption apparatus, for storage and dispensing of a gas, said apparatus comprising:

• a storage and dispensing vessel constructed and arranged for holding a solid-phase physical sorbent medium, and for selectively flowing gas into and out of said vessel;
• a solid-phase physical sorbent medium disposed in said storage and dispensing vessel at an interior gas pressure;
• a sorbate gas physically adsorbed on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium;
• a dispensing assembly coupled in gas flow communication with the storage and dispensing vessel, and constructed and arranged to provide, exteriorly of said storage and dispensing vessel, a pressure below said interior pressure, to effect desorption of at least a portion of said sorbate gas from the solid-phase physical sorbent medium and yield desorbed gas, and gas flow of said desorbed gas through the dispensing assembly;
• wherein any water, metals, and oxidic transition metal species present on the solid-phase physical sorbent medium are at a concentration which is insufficient to decompose more than 5% by weight of the sorbate gas in said storage and dispensing vessel after 1 year at 25.degree. C. at said interior gas pressure.

An adsorption-desorption apparatus, for storage and dispensing of a gas, said apparatus comprising:

• a storage and dispensing vessel constructed and arranged for holding a solid-phase physical sorbent medium, and for selectively flowing gas into and out of said vessel;
• a solid-phase physical sorbent medium disposed in said storage and dispensing vessel at an interior gas pressure;
• a sorbate gas physically adsorbed on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium;
• a dispensing assembly coupled in gas flow communication with the storage and dispensing vessel, and constructed and arranged to provide, exteriorly of said storage and dispensing vessel, a pressure below said interior pressure, to effect desorption of at least a portion of said sorbate gas from the solid-phase physical sorbent medium and yield desorbed gas, and gas flow of said desorbed gas through the dispensing assembly;
• wherein the solid-phase physical sorbent medium concentration of trace components selected from the group consisting of water, metals, and oxidic transition metal species, based on the weight of the physical sorbent medium, is insufficient to cause decomposition of the sorbate gas resulting in more than a 5% rise in interior pressure after 1 week at 25.degree. C. in said storage and dispensing vessel.

An adsorption-desorption apparatus, for storage and dispensing of boron trifluoride, said apparatus comprising:

• a storage and dispensing vessel constructed and arranged for holding a solid-phase physical sorbent medium having a sorptive affinity for boron trifluoride, and for selectively flowing boron trifluoride into and out of said vessel;
• a solid-phase physical sorbent medium having a sorptive affinity for boron trifluoride, disposed in said storage and dispensing vessel at an interior gas pressure;
• boron trifluoride gas, physically adsorbed on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium;
• and
• a dispensing assembly coupled in gas flow communication with the storage and dispensing vessel, and constructed and arranged to provide, exteriorly of said storage and dispensing vessel, a pressure below said interior pressure, to effect desorption of at least a portion of said boron trifluoride gas from the solid-phase physical sorbent medium to yield desorbed boron trifluoride, and gas flow of said desorbed boron trifluoride gas through the dispensing assembly.

An ion implantation system, comprising a reagent source for reagent source material and an ion implantation apparatus coupled in gas flow communication with said reagent source, and wherein the reagent source comprises:

• an adsorption-desorption apparatus, for storage and dispensing of a gas, said apparatus comprising:
• a storage and dispensing vessel constructed and arranged for holding a solid-phase physical sorbent medium, and for selectively flowing gas into and out of said vessel;
• a solid-phase physical sorbent medium disposed in said storage and dispensing vessel at an interior gas pressure;
• a sorbate gas physically adsorbed on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium;
• and
• a dispensing assembly interconnecting the storage and dispensing vessel and said ion implantation apparatus in gas flow communication with one another, and constructed and arranged to provide, exteriorly of said storage and dispensing vessel, a pressure below said interior pressure, to effect desorption of at least a portion of said sorbate gas from the solid-phase physical sorbent medium and yield desorbed gas, and gas flow of said desorbed gas through the dispensing assembly to the ion implantation apparatus;
• wherein the solid-phase physical sorbent medium is devoid of trace components selected from the group consisting of water, metals and oxidic transition metal species in a sufficient concentration to decompose the sorbate gas in said storage and dispensing vessel.

An adsorption-desorption apparatus, for storage and dispensing of a gas sorbable on a solid-phase physical sorbent medium, said apparatus comprising:

• a storage and dispensing vessel constructed and arranged for holding a solid-phase physical sorbent medium, and for selectively flowing gas into and out of said vessel;
• a solid-phase physical sorbent medium disposed in said storage and dispensing vessel at an interior gas pressure;
• a sorbate gas physically adsorbed on said solid-phase physical sorbent medium;
• a dispensing assembly coupled in gas flow communication with the storage and dispensing vessel, and constructed and arranged to provide, exteriorly of said storage and dispensing vessel, a pressure below said interior pressure, to effect desorption of at least a portion of said sorbate gas from the solid-phase physical sorbent medium and yield desorbed gas, and gas flow of said desorbed gas through the dispensing assembly;
• a cryopump coupled to said dispensing assembly for pressurizing the desorbed gas and discharging the pressurized gas.