Atomic layer deposition apparatus

An atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor, comprising:

• a reaction chamber comprising a reaction space;
• one or more inlets;
• an exhaust outlet;
• a gas flow control guide structure residing over the reaction space, the gas flow control guide structure being interposed between the one or more inlets and the reaction space, the gas flow control guide structure comprising one or more gas channels, each of the channels extending from a respective one of the one or more inlets to a first portion of a periphery of the reaction space, at least one of the channels including two sidewalls that define the channel so as to widen as the channel extends from the inlet to the reaction space, wherein the at least one channel has a first height at the center of the channel and a second height at one of the sidewalls, the first height being greater than the second height, wherein
• the gas flow control guide structure comprises one or more gas flow control plates stacked over one another,
• at least one of the gas flow control plates comprises a groove including two sidewalls that form the two sidewalls of the at least one channel, the two sidewalls of the groove defining the at least one channel in cooperation with an immediately overlying one of the gas flow control plates or an inner ceiling surface of the reaction chamber,
• the groove extends from near a generally central portion of the at least one gas flow control plate to a portion of an edge of the at least one gas flow control plate while widening as the groove extends from the generally central portion to the portion of the edge,
• the groove defines a plurality of flow paths from near the generally central portion of the at least one gas flow control plate to the portion of the edge of the gas flow control plate,
• the groove has a first depth at the center of the groove and a second depth at an edge of the groove, and wherein the first depth is greater than the second depth, and
• the gas flow control guide structure further includes one or more gas flow resistance control members in the groove, wherein one or more gas flow resistance control members are detachable from the at least one of the gas flow control plates;
• and
• a substrate holder positioned to expose a supported substrate to the reaction space, wherein the gas flow control guide structure is configured to generate a gas flow direction of reactant in the reaction space that is predominantly parallel to a major surface of the supported substrate from the first portion of the periphery of the reaction space to a second portion of the periphery of the reaction space, wherein the second portion is on the opposite side from the first portion.

A deposition apparatus, comprising:

• a reactor cover;
• a reactor base in sealing contact with the reactor cover to define a reaction space, the reactor base being detachable from the reactor cover;
• and
• a reactor base driver configured to vertically move the reactor base between first and second positions, wherein the reactor space is open at the first position, and is closed at the second position,
• wherein the reactor base driver is configured to independently adjust at least three portions of the reactor base to provide a substantially perfect seal to the reactor space at the second position, and
• wherein the at least three portions are horizontally spaced apart from one another and are not aligned with one another.

A deposition apparatus, comprising:

• a reactor cover;
• a reactor base in sealing contact with the reactor cover to define a reaction space, the reactor base being detachable from the reactor cover;
• and
• a reactor base driver configured to vertically move the reactor base between first and second positions, wherein the reactor space is open at the first position, and is closed at the second position,
• wherein the reactor base driver is configured to independently adjust at least three portions of the reactor base to provide a substantially perfect seal to the reactor space at the second position, and
• wherein the at least three portions are horizontally spaced apart from one another and are not aligned with one another, wherein the reactor base driver includes three or more levelers to independently adjust the vertical levels of the at least three portions of either the reactor cover or the reactor base.