Liquid precursor delivery system

• US 6,007,330 A
• Filed: 03/12/1998
• Issued: 12/28/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cosmos Factory, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cosmos Factory, Inc.
• Inventors: Gauthier, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoang, Tu Ba
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilson, Gregory A.
• Application Number:
  US09/041,843
• Time in Patent Office: 656 Days
• Field of Search: 432/36, 432/47, 118/715, 118/725, 118/726, 118/720, 427/248.1, 427/255.1, 427/255.6
• US Class Current: 432/47
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4481 by evaporation using carrier gas in contact with the source material C23C16/4486 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/52 Controlling or regulating the coating process C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence

Abstract

A system for delivering a liquid phase precursor fluid into a process chamber as a vapor phase fluid at constant pressure, the system comprising: a vaporizer for vaporizing the liquid phase precursor fluid prior to injecting the vapor phase fluid precursor into the process chamber, and a controllable device for transporting a preselected volume of the liquid phase fluid precursor from a reservoir to the vaporizer responsive to the pressure at the outlet of the vaporizer prior to entering the process chamber where the transport device is operated as the pressure at the outlet of the vaporizer canister drops, whereby system pressure perturbances are minimized prior to entering the process chamber.

Claims

1. A method for delivering a liquid precursor material from the liquid state at or near atmospheric pressure to a reduced pressure in which the precursor material exists as a vapor, the method comprising the following steps:

providing a system comprising means for containing the liquid precursor material, means for vaporizing the liquid precursor material, and means for transporting the liquid precursor material to the means for vaporizing in which liquid precursor which is transported into the vaporizer canister is vaporized and drawn off through an outlet into a process chamber;

determining the pressure of the system at a point adjacent the outlet of the vaporizer canister; and

maintaining the pressure of the system as determined at the point adjacent the outlet of the vaporizer canister at a setpoint by dispensing a predetermined amount of liquid precursor into the vaporizer when the determined pressure is below the setpoint.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the system further comprises a pressure transducer and a controller which, during the step of maintaining the pressure adjacent the outlet of the vaporizer canister of the system at the setpoint, causes the means of transport of liquid precursor material to transport a predetermined amount of the liquid precursor material into the vaporizer when the determined pressure is below the setpoint.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the means for containing the liquid precursor material is temperature controlled, the method further comprising the step of maintaining the temperature of the liquid precursor material at a selected temperature.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the means for vaporizing the liquid precursor material is temperature controlled, the method further comprising the step of maintaining the temperature within the means for vaporizing the liquid precursor material at a selected temperature.