Solid precursor weight monitoring systems, reactor systems, and methods of use thereof

Abstract

A precursor monitoring assembly for use in a reactor system for providing real-time and direct measurement of availability of a source material from a source vessel. The assembly includes one or more force or load sensors, such as forcemeters, positioned between a bottom wall of the inner tray and an outer wall, such as a base of the source container, and / or outside the source container. A signal conditioning element processes the output electrical signal from the sensor, and then a controller processes the output signal from the signal conditioning element using a conversion factor, e.g., to determine a current weight of the source material stored in the source container. The controller uses the weight to calculate the amount of source material or chemical species available in the source container.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application is a partial continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18 / 100,331, filed on Jan. 23, 2023, entitled "REACTOR SYSTEM WITH SOURCE VESSEL WEIGHT MONITORING", and claims the priority and benefit thereof. The U.S. patent application is a non - provisional application of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 302,611, filed on Jan. 25, 2022, entitled "REACTOR SYSTEM WITH SOURCE VESSEL WEIGHT MONITORING", and claims the priority and benefit thereof. The contents of all these applications are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor manufacturing methods and systems that use precursors or other source materials typically stored in a system source vessel at elevated temperatures and over a wide pressure range including vacuum, and more particularly, to methods and devices for monitoring the level or amount of source materials (such as precursors, reactants, etc.) in the source vessel in solid, liquid, or gaseous form. Background Art

[0004] Deposition techniques, including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), etc., include well - known processes for forming thin films of materials on substrates such as silicon wafers. For example, in a CVD process, gaseous molecules of the material to be deposited are supplied to the substrate to form a thin film of the material on the substrate through a chemical reaction. The thin films so formed can be polycrystalline, amorphous, or crystalline (e.g., epitaxial). Generally, ALD and CVD processes are carried out at elevated temperatures to accelerate chemical reactions and produce high - quality films, and the deposition or processing materials (such as precursors, reactants, etc.) can be provided to the reaction chamber via various chamber structures (such as showerheads, etc.) from solid, liquid, or gas sources.

[0005] During a deposition process, deposition material or source material (which may be delivered to a substrate, for example) can be stored within a source container with controlled temperature and pressure, which can be within a reactor system or tool, and the source container itself can be located within an enclosure at a higher temperature and a wide range of pressures (e.g., within a vacuum oven). In some cases, the source container is stored within a source enclosure or cabinet (which may take the form of a vacuum oven in some cases), which is fluidly connected to or in communication with a reaction or processing chamber. For example, a solid source container can be used to provide a precursor to a substrate (e.g., a wafer) on a substrate support or pedestal within a reaction chamber. During substrate processing, the precursor is consumed. When the source container runs out of or is lacking in precursor (or other processing material), the amount of vapor reaching the substrate may be affected, which can lead to non-uniform deposition between substrate-to-substrate runs in the reactor system or even on a particular substrate. Such non-uniformity can result in discarded substrates and the need to re-run the batch of substrates after the source container is refilled, which results in lower throughput.

[0006] Typical reactor systems do not provide any way to directly monitor how much chemical is available within the source container at any given time. Currently, system operators can simply wait until no deposition is observed or non-uniform deposition is observed to determine that the chemical source is depleted and needs to be refilled. In some cases, the amount of chemical that has been used is calculated based on a dose pulse after a refill is performed, but errors in such calculations can lead to inaccuracies in this indirect source monitoring method. Thus, there is still a need for a direct measurement solution for monitoring the availability of source material within the source container of a reactor system to prevent or mitigate dose drift, which can occur if precursor consumption is not monitored and / or precursor consumption drops below a particular level. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] This Summary of the Invention is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form. These concepts are further described in detail in the following detailed description of example embodiments of the present disclosure. The Summary of the Invention is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0008] According to various embodiments, a source container weight monitoring assembly for a reactor system is disclosed herein to provide real-time and direct measurement of the availability of source material or process material from a source container. The assembly includes a plurality of sensors, such as load cells, positioned between the bottom wall of the source container (in some embodiments, a container support plate and a heater plate are disposed between the bottom wall and the sensor) and a support element of the container (such as the base of the source container housing, which may take the form of a vacuum oven in some exemplary systems). The sensors are positioned to at least partially support the container, and a signal conditioning element conditions the electrical signal from the load cell, and a controller processes the output signal from the signal conditioning element using a conversion factor, such as to determine the current weight of the source container and the process material (such as a solid, liquid, or gaseous precursor) stored therein. The controller uses this weight to calculate the amount of process material or chemical available in the source container, which can be reported to the reactor system operator to indicate any problems with waste or deposition non-uniformity in the reactor chamber supplied by the source container before a source refill is required.

[0009] In some exemplary embodiments of the present specification, a reactor system adapted to monitor source availability is described. The system includes a reaction chamber, a source housing (such as a vacuum oven), and a source container positioned within the source housing. The container includes an internal space adapted to receive a volume of source material, and the internal space is fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber. The system further includes a container weight monitoring assembly that includes a sensor assembly positioned within the source housing, the sensor assembly being operable to sense the weight of the source container.

[0010] In some exemplary embodiments of the system, the sensor assembly includes a plurality of force sensors positioned between the bottom wall of the source container and a support element of the source housing, supporting at least a portion of the weight of the source container. Each of the one or more force sensors outputs an electrical signal indicative of the force exerted on the one or more force sensors by the source container. In some cases, the force sensors include three load cells arranged in a circular pattern with a 120-degree offset, such that the force applied to each of the three load cells is substantially equal. The system may include a container base heater positioned between the bottom wall of the source container and the support element, and the force sensor includes a pneumatic load cell embedded in the outer surface of the container base heater.

[0011] The container weight monitoring assembly may also include signal conditioning means for processing the signal from each of the one or more force sensors to calculate the weight of the source material. Processing of the signal may include amplifying the electrical signal from the load cell. The container weight monitoring assembly may also include a controller. The purpose or function of the controller is to apply a conversion factor to the total measured weight or gross weight of the container, the conversion factor being adapted to remove the weight of the source container and the support force applied to the lid of the source container by the lid attachment hardware. The controller may be configured (or programmed) to generate at least one of a graphical user interface (GUI) including an image or text indicating the weight in a display or an alert based on a comparison of the weight with a refill alert threshold. The lid attachment hardware may include at least one input line and at least one output line, each including at least one of a bellows type, a coiled gas line or a rigid gas line, to reduce the support force applied to the lid. In this system, the interior space of the source enclosure has or may have an operating temperature greater than 150 °C.

[0012] According to other aspects of the present specification, a reactor system adapted to monitor source availability is provided. The system includes a source enclosure and a source container positioned within the interior space of the source enclosure. The source container includes a bottom wall, a lid and side walls defining an interior space for receiving a processing material. The system also includes one or more force sensors positioned within the interior space of the source enclosure to at least partially support the source container, and the plurality of force sensors each output a signal indicative of the force applied to the one or more force sensors. A signal conditioning element is provided to condition the electrical signal from the sensors. A controller is provided in the system which processes the signal output by the one or more force sensors to determine the weight of the processing material.

[0013] In some embodiments of the system, the force sensors include three load cells arranged in a pattern such that the force applied to each of the three load cells is substantially equal. In other embodiments, the system includes a container base heater positioned between the bottom wall of the source container and a support element, and the one or more force sensors include pneumatic load cells embedded in the outer surface of the container base heater.

[0014] The controller's processing of the signal includes applying a conversion factor to the total measured or detected weight to account for the weight of the source container and the support force applied to the lid of the source container by the lid attachment hardware. In some cases, the controller generates at least one of a graphical user interface (GUI) including an image or text indicating the weight in a display or an alert based on a comparison of the weight with a refill alert threshold. In these or other example systems, the lid attachment hardware includes at least one input line and at least one output line, each including at least one of a bellows and a coil, to reduce the support force applied to the lid.

[0015] In another aspect of the present specification, a method for monitoring the availability of source material in a reactor system is described. The method includes receiving at least one signal, typically a plurality of signals, from a set of force sensors located between a source container and a support element that vertically supports the source container in the reactor system. The method further includes converting the at least one signal into a weight measurement and calculating the weight of the source material in the source container based on the weight measurement. In some cases, the density of the precursor is used to determine the precursor volume, where volume = weight / density. This will be helpful when dealing with liquids because the liquid density varies with temperature and the liquid volume within the container can further be used to find the vapor pressure.

[0016] The calculation of the weight may include applying a conversion factor to account for the weight of the source container and the lifting force applied to the lid of the source container by the lid attachment hardware. In some embodiments, the set of force sensors includes at least three load cells arranged to each receive an equal or substantially equal (e.g., within 5%) proportion of the force applied by the source container to the set of force sensors. The method may further include generating a GUI having an image or text indicating the weight of the source material. Additionally, the method may include comparing the weight of the source material with a refill alert set point and, based on the comparison, generating a refill alert.

[0017] According to various embodiments, a reactor system is disclosed herein to provide real-time and direct measurement of the availability of source material from a source container. An exemplary system includes a reaction chamber, a source housing, and a source container positioned within the source housing. The source container may include an internal tray and an outer wall configured to receive the internal tray. The internal tray may include a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface having a recess adapted to receive a certain volume of source material, wherein the top surface is fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber. The recess may include channels configured to hold solid precursors. The reactor system further includes a solid precursor monitoring system that includes a sensor assembly positioned between the bottom surface of the internal tray and the outer wall. The sensor assembly includes a force sensor configured to measure the combined weight of the internal tray and the source material. The force sensor is configured to output a signal indicative of the force applied by the sensor. In some embodiments, the source container may be subjected to high temperatures, and thus the force sensor includes a load cell configured to operate at temperatures between about 100°C and about 250°C. The source container further includes a lid and lid attachment means. The lid attachment means may include an input line and an output line, wherein the input line and the output line each include a bellows or a coiled tube.

[0018] The solid precursor monitoring system may further include a controller configured to receive and process signals from the force sensor and calculate the weight of the source material based on the signals. The controller applies a conversion factor to the combined weight to calculate the weight of the source material. The controller may generate an indicator based on a comparison of the weight of the source material with a minimum threshold, and may cause various actions based on the indicator, where the minimum threshold indicates a depleted source material that can be desirably refilled and / or a weight below a desired amount. Additionally, the controller may be configured to control the temperature of the source container at an operating temperature greater than 150 °C.

[0019] In some exemplary embodiments of the present specification, a solid precursor monitoring system adapted to monitor the availability of a solid precursor is described. The system includes a source housing (e.g., a vacuum oven) and a source container located within the source housing. The container includes an internal tray adapted to receive a volume of source material and an outer wall of the source container configured to receive the internal tray. The system further includes a force sensor positioned adjacent to and in contact with the bottom wall of the internal tray and the outer wall of the source container, wherein the force sensor is configured to output a signal indicative of the force applied to the force sensor. In some embodiments, the source container may be subjected to high temperatures. The force sensor may include a load cell configured to operate at temperatures between about 100 °C and about 250 °C. The source container may further include a lid and a lid attachment device. The lid attachment device may include an input line and an output line, wherein each of the input line and the output line includes a bellows or a coiled tube.

[0020] The solid precursor monitoring system may further include a controller configured to process signals to calculate the weight of the source material. The controller may be configured to apply a conversion factor to the combined weight of the internal tray and the source material to determine the amount of the source material. The controller may generate an indicator indicative of the amount of the source material in the system and may cause various actions based on the indicator.

[0021] According to a further aspect of the present specification, a method of monitoring the availability of a source material in a reactor system is described. The method includes receiving a signal from a force sensor positioned between the bottom surface of an internal tray of a source container located in the reactor system and the outer wall of the source container. The method further includes calculating, by a controller, the weight of the source material in the internal tray of the source container. In some instances, calculating by the controller includes applying a conversion factor to the calculated combined weight of the source container and the source material. Additionally, the method may include comparing, by the controller, the weight of the source material with a minimum threshold and generating, by the controller, a refill alert based on the comparison. This can be particularly helpful when dealing with a liquid source, as the liquid density varies with the temperature and liquid volume within the container and can further be used to find the vapor pressure. The force sensor may include a load cell configured to operate at temperatures between about 100 °C and about 250 °C.

[0022] All of these embodiments are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. From the following detailed description of certain embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, these and other embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art, and the present disclosure is not limited to any particular embodiment discussed. Description of the Drawings

[0023] Although this specification concludes with claims that particularly point out and distinctly claim the embodiments that are regarded as the present disclosure, the advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be more readily determined from the description of certain examples of the embodiments of the present disclosure when read in conjunction with the drawings. Elements having the same reference numeral in all the drawings are intended to be the same.

[0024] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary reactor system of this specification, having a container weight monitoring component operable to monitor source availability based on container weight measurement.

[0025] Figure 2 schematically shows, for example, Figure 1 the design and operation of a container weight monitoring component that can be used in a reactor system of

[0026] Figure 3 is a side perspective view of a part of the reactor system, including an exemplary embodiment of a sensor component of the container weight monitoring component of this specification.

[0027] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a schematic bottom view of the reactor system of

[0028] Figure 5 provides graphical results of three calibration runs of a sensor component for determining the weight of a source or processing material in a source container.

[0029] Figure 6 shows another part of the reactor system, including another exemplary embodiment of a sensor component at least partially embedded in a container base heater.

[0030] Figure 7 is a flowchart of an exemplary source or processing material availability monitoring method that can be performed based on direct container weight measurement through the operation of the reactor system described in Figure 1-6

[0031] Figure 8 shows a functional block diagram of an exemplary reactor system of this specification, having a solid precursor weight monitoring component operable to monitor source availability based on internal tray weight measurement.

[0032] ​Figure 9 Shows an isometric view of a source container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 10 Shows an isometric view of a portion of a source container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 11 Shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of a source container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 12 Is a flowchart of an exemplary source material availability monitoring method that can be performed based on direct internal tray weight measurement through Figure 1-6 The operation of the reactor system described in Detailed Description

[0036] Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, those skilled in the art will understand that the present disclosure extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments and / or uses of the present disclosure and its obvious modifications and equivalents. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by the specific embodiments described herein.

[0037] The illustrations presented herein are not meant to be actual views of any particular material, device, structure, or equipment, but are merely representations for describing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] As used herein, the term "chemical vapor deposition" (CVD) can refer to any process in which a substrate is exposed to one or more volatile precursors that react and / or decompose on the surface of the substrate to produce a desired deposition.

[0039] As used herein, the term "atomic layer deposition" (ALD) can refer to a vapor deposition process in which deposition cycles are carried out in a processing chamber, preferably a plurality of successive deposition cycles. Generally, during each cycle, a precursor is chemisorbed onto a deposition surface (e.g., a substrate surface or a surface of a previously deposited underlying layer, such as a material from a previous ALD cycle), forming a monolayer or sub-monolayer that does not readily react with additional precursor (i.e., a self-limiting reaction). Thereafter, if desired, a reactant (e.g., another precursor or a reactive gas) can subsequently be introduced into the processing chamber for converting the chemisorbed precursor into the desired material on the deposition surface. Generally, the reactant is capable of further reacting with the precursor. Additionally, a purge step can be utilized during each cycle to remove excess precursor from the processing chamber and / or to remove excess reactant and / or reaction by-products from the processing chamber after conversion of the chemisorbed precursor. Further, as used herein, the term atomic layer deposition is also intended to include processes designated by related terms, such as chemical vapor atomic layer deposition, atomic layer epitaxy (ALE), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), gas-source MBE, or organometallic MBE, and chemical beam epitaxy when carried out with alternating pulses of precursor compositions, reactive gases, and purge gases (e.g., an inert carrier gas).

[0040] As described in more detail below, various details and embodiments of the present disclosure can be used in conjunction with processes carried out in a reactor system (e.g., a semiconductor manufacturing system) to monitor the amount of source material available for a reaction or processing chamber. A "process" can include virtually any process typically carried out in such a reactor system, such as deposition, etching, purging, etc., that can be performed during ALD, CVD, and other processes on a substrate (e.g., a wafer). A "source material" can be provided from a source container to a reaction chamber, where it can be in solid, liquid, or gaseous form and can include precursors, reactants, etc., used during the processes carried out during operation of the reactor system.

[0041] A reactor system having a method based on direct measurement can provide the ability to monitor the availability of source material in a source container. Accordingly, various embodiments of the present technology disclose a reactor system that includes a solid precursor weight monitoring assembly. As described in detail below, an exemplary assembly can be configured to directly monitor the weight of the source material in a source container and, in response, update the system operator or user as to the amount of chemical substance or source / source material available in the source container and / or perform other functions, such as automatically cooling or allowing the source container to cool, stopping processing, etc. Utilizing this information, a refill sequence for the source container can be planned, thereby preventing substrate waste and / or extended equipment downtime. In various embodiments, the source container can be in a source enclosure (e.g., a vacuum oven) where the operating temperature is high (e.g., above 150 °C to 200 °C or in some cases even above 300 °C) and where the operating pressure is low (e.g., below atmospheric pressure).

[0042] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of the reactor system 100 of this specification, having a container weight monitoring component 150 operable to monitor source availability based on container weight measurements (e.g., via calculation of the amount of processing or source material (such as solid precursors, etc. 129) in the source container 120). The system 100 is shown in simplified form, but those skilled in the art will understand that additional components, such as other source containers 120, gas or material distribution systems, system controllers, etc., may be included for performing ALD, CVD, or other semiconductor or manufacturing processes.

[0043] As shown, the system 100 includes a container housing 110 for accommodating the source container 120. The housing 110 (such as a vacuum oven) may be configured to heat the container 120 to a temperature in a range such as 150 °C to 300 °C or higher, and maintain the internal space 112 in which the container 120 is placed at a desired pressure, such as below atmospheric pressure. The source container 120 includes an internal space 128 adapted to receive and accommodate a quantity of processing or source material 129, and this space 128 is defined by a side wall 122, a bottom wall 124, and a container lid 126, all of which may be formed of a metal such as aluminum, steel, etc. to facilitate efficient heat transfer to the material 129.

[0044] The container housing 110 includes a support element 114 for supporting (in the vertical direction) the container 120 within the internal space 112, and in some embodiments, an additional support plate ( Figure 1 not shown in the Figure 3 but shown in the

[0045] In practice, the weight of the container 120 is supported by the support element 114 of the housing 110 and, to some extent, also by the lid attachment hardware 130, as indicated by arrow F1. In addition to the outlet pipe 132, the lid attachment hardware 130 may include an inlet pipe, a sensor line, and the like. In some embodiments, the outlet pipe 132 (and / or the inlet pipe) and other lid attachment hardware 130 may be designed to provide less vertical support to the container 120, such that a larger portion of the weight of the container 120 is supported by the support element 114 to facilitate direct measurement of the container weight. In short, the hardware 130, such as the line 132, may be a bellows type, a coiled gas line, a rigid gas line, or the like to exert a minimum lifting force on the lid 126 and / or the container 120.

[0046] To provide a direct measurement and monitoring of the amount of processing material 129 in the container 120, the system 100 includes a container weight monitoring assembly 150. The assembly 150 includes a sensor assembly 152 that is at least partially positioned within the inner space 112 of the housing 112. In particular, the assembly includes one, two, three, or more force or load sensors 154, 156, such as load cells, etc., that are positioned or disposed between the bottom wall 124 of the container 120 (and in some cases a support plate attached to the bottom wall 124, as Figure 3 shown) and the upper surface of the support element 114. The force sensors 154, 156 are positioned to support the entire weight of the container 120 (and, as the case may be, the heater plate and the container plate (not shown but included in various embodiments of the container housing 110) and the weight of the source material or processing material 129 (as indicated by arrows F2 to F N shown)), which is reduced by the lifting or vertically upward force applied to the container lid 126 by the lid attachment hardware 130. To this end, the force sensors 154, 156 are devices designed to convert the applied mechanical force (e.g., compressive force) into an output signal 157, the value of which can be used to reflect the magnitude of the force (or the weight of the container 120).

[0047] As shown, signals 157 output by force sensors 154, 156 are first transmitted (either wired or wirelessly) to signal conditioning element 158 (one signal conditioning element is provided for each load cell or load sensor 154, 156 in most cases) to generate a conditioned signal 159 that is provided to controller 160 of monitoring assembly 150. Signal conditioning element 158 conditions the electrical signals from each load cell or other sensor 154, 156, such as by amplifying the electrical signals from the load cells. Controller 160 can take the form of almost any computer device and is shown as including a processor 162 that manages the operation of input and output (I / O) device 164, which is used to receive signals 157 output by sensors 154, 156. Processor 162 executes code, instructions, and / or software (which can be in memory / data storage 180) to provide the functionality of weight monitoring module 170. Processor 162 also manages memory 180, including storing and accessing signals 157 as shown at 182.

[0048] Module 170 is used to process the received load signals 182, including applying a conversion factor 180 from memory 182 to calculate the current container and source material weight 186. In short, by testing and calibrating sensors 154, 1,56 to convert the signals 182 indicative of sensed forces F2 to F N into units of force or load (such as grams) to generate a conversion factor 184. The conversion factor 184, which can include an algorithm, can also be used by module 170 to determine the total weight or gross weight of container 120 and the material 129 stored in container 120 by first adding the force F1 applied by the lid attachment hardware 130 (and / or other components in space 112 that contact container 120) to the sensed forces F2 to F N and then subtracting the known weight of container 120 when empty to determine the amount of material 129.

[0049] Using the calculated source or processed material weight 186 at hand, module 170 can determine if a refill is needed. Module 170 can retrieve a refill alert set point 188 (such as the minimum amount or weight of material 129 desired in container 120 for further processing by system 100, such as 100 grams for some container designs and some specific processed materials 129), and compare it to the calculated weight or amount 186 of material 129 currently in container 120. When the source weight 186 is at or below the set point 188, module 172 can provide an alert or other suitable indicator to the operator of system 100, such as via an audible alert, a visual alert, a digital message to a client device, and / or other messaging processes.

[0050] In this regard, the weight monitoring component 170 can include a graphical user interface (GUI) generator 172, which is adapted to generate and display a weight monitoring GUI 192 in a display 190 (or an operator's client device). The weight monitoring GUI 192 can include images and / or text messages that indicate information useful in monitoring the source or processing material 129 and its availability, and the displayed information can include the current amount of material 129 directly measured by the component 150 and a refill alert set point 188 (e.g., using a display similar to an automotive speedometer, etc.). The information displayed in the GUI 192 can also include an indicator that the calculated source amount 186 is below or at the set point 188 (or the set point 188 has not been met), such as a red light when indicating a refill and a green light when not indicating a refill (and in some cases, a yellow light when a refill will soon be expected).

[0051] Figure 2 Schematically illustrates the design and operation of a container weight monitoring component 200, such as can be used as Figure 1 a component 150 in a reactor system 100. The component 200 includes three load sensors 230 positioned between the bottom wall of the container 214 and a support element 212 (e.g., the bottom wall of the source enclosure). The component 200 also includes bellows-type, coiled gas lines, or rigid gas lines, etc. 220 (input / output lines that form part of the lid attachment hardware) for inputting material during refill or outputting material during wafer / substrate processing via a valve 222 coupled to the lid of the container 214. The bellows lines 220 are each shown as being coupled at their lower end to one of the valves 222 (and the lid of the container 214) and at their upper end to an upper support element 210 (e.g., the top wall of the source enclosure). The lines 220 exert a lifting force or upward support force W1 on the container 214, and the magnitude of this lifting force or upward support force W1 is reduced by using the bellows (or coils / rings) in the lines 220 as compared to rigid conventional lines (which are typically hard vertical) found in many reactor systems, and this reduction is desirable for increasing the accuracy of the weight measurement of the container 214 by the load sensors 230.

[0052] Component 200 can be used to directly monitor the total weight change of a source (e.g., a precursor such as HFCl4, etc.) container 214 using load cells 230 when there is a weight change during source (e.g., precursor) consumption. The load cells 230 can be placed under the container 214 (its bottom wall) or a support plate or frame that holds the container 214 within an enclosure (e.g., a vacuum oven, etc.). Wires 240 (e.g., wires compatible with high temperatures within the container enclosure 110) are used to communicatively link each sensor 230 to a signal conditioning device or element 246 via a vacuum feedthrough 244 (e.g., a feedthrough compatible with high temperatures in the enclosure 110) in the enclosure 110 or its wall. The signal conditioning device 246 conditions the electrical signal from each load cell 230 as described above (e.g., by applying a conversion factor), and then provides the conditioned signal to the tool I / O 250 (e.g., Figure 1 the I / O 164 for the controller 162 in

[0053] As shown by arrows W1 to W4, the weight is proportionally distributed on the supports, where W1 represents the load carried by the pipeline 220 (and / or other hardware in the enclosure), and W2, W3, and W4 represent the loads carried and sensed by the load cells 230. The total load is equal to the container weight plus the weight W of the precursor / source in the container 214 x , and the sum change of the weights (or sensed loads) W2, W3, and W4 is proportional to the change in the source or process material weight, such that a conversion factor (e.g., a numerical model relating the change in precursor weight to this sum change of the sensed force / load) can be determined through testing and calibration and then applied to the measured values of these forces / loads to calculate the weight of the source or process material within the container 214.

[0054] Figure 3 is a side perspective view of a part of the reactor system 300, including an exemplary embodiment of the sensor assembly of the container weight monitoring component of this specification. As shown, the source container 310 is disposed within the internal space of an enclosure (e.g., a vacuum oven), and the enclosure includes a support element or bottom 320 on which the container 310 is vertically supported. The container 310 includes side walls 312, a lid or top wall 314, and a bottom wall 316, which together define an internal space configured or adapted to receive a quantity of source material or process material (e.g., a precursor, etc.). The system 300 also includes hardware 318 attached to the lid 314, and this hardware 318 exerts some upward force on the container 310 such that the entire weight of the container 310 is not borne by the support element 320 (and needs to be considered in the source weight calculation, as discussed above with reference to Figure 2 ).

[0055] Figure 3In the illustrated embodiment, the container 310 is mounted on a support plate or frame 324 within the housing, and the sensor assembly includes three force sensors in the form of load cells. One of these load cells 330 is visible in Figure 3 and is shown positioned or disposed between the bottom wall 316 of the container 310 and the upper surface of the housing support element 320. More specifically, the load cell 330 is fixed or mounted to the bottom surface of the support plate or frame 324, which abuts the bottom wall 316 of the container 310. With this arrangement, all of the weight of the container 310, except for the weight carried by the lid attachment hardware 318, is supported by the load sensors including the load cell 330. In some cases, the pneumatic lines are coiled or bellows-type to attempt to ensure that the container floats or nearly floats on the load cell 330. Additional design aspects can include ensuring that the heater cable (which can be part of the hardware 318 but is not shown in detail in Figure 3 is flexible and that the valve plate (which can be part of the hardware 318 in some cases but is not shown in detail in Figure 3 is not supported by the container 310.

[0056] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a schematic bottom view of the reactor system 300, which shows the positioning of the three load sensors 330, 432, 434 of the sensor assembly relative to the outer surface 425 of the container bottom support plate or frame 324. One, two, four, or more load sensors can be used to implement the sensor assembly, where three load sensors are useful in some embodiments because that number can be easily arranged in a circular pattern to equally or substantially equally balance the load (e.g., an equal portion of the container and source weight is applied to each load sensor 330, 432, 434). As shown, the load sensors 330, 432, 434 are equidistant from the plate center 427, where d 传感器 is equal for all three and relatively close to the size of the plate radius R 底部 such that the sensors 330, 432, 434 are near the perimeter or outer edge of the plate 324. The sensors 330, 432, 434 are positioned in a circular pattern around the outer edge of the plate 324 so as to be radially separated at a matching angle θ of 120 degrees.

[0057] A variety of sensors can be used for sensors 330, 432, 434. In some cases, the vertical spacing may limit the sensor selection, where one exemplary embodiment requires the total vertical height of each sensor (which can be the sensor thickness plus the height of the support element or the sensor mounting fastener at the bottom for mounting the sensor to the housing) to be about 15 mm. The sensors can also be capable of being used in higher temperature applications, such as temperatures greater than 200 °C, 250 °C, or 300 °C, and the operating range of the sensors should meet or exceed the expected use temperature. In various embodiments, the system can integrate any suitable load sensor or dynamometer, such as a 30 N load sensor with an operating range of 200 °C, a 100 N load sensor with an operating range of 200 °C, etc. It may be desirable to modify the communication lines from such sensors to adapt to a specific application, such as the environment inside a vacuum oven.

[0058] Figure 5 Graphical results 500 of three calibration runs of a sensor assembly having three load sensors (as Figure 3 and Figure 4 shown) are provided for determining the weight of the source or processing material in the source container. Graph 510 shows the results of a calibration run with no lines connected to the container except for the heater line, graph 520 shows the results of a calibration run with all hard lines (such as lid attachment hardware) connected to the container lid, and graph 530 shows the results of a calibration run with a modified gas line (a combination of bellows and coiled tubing) connected to the container lid. The tests involved loading and unloading known amounts of weight, with the container weight zeroed to provide a measurement of the precursor / processing material. The repeatability and accuracy of the load sensors were shown to be acceptable, where the heating line did not affect the results. It is desirable to use flexible input and output lines to provide readings closer to the processing material.

[0059] Figure 6 Another portion of the reactor system is shown, which includes another exemplary embodiment of a sensor assembly at least partially embedded in the container base heater. In particular, the container base heater 610 is shown to have been modified to include a dynamometer 620 within the heater surface 611. The force sensor 620 can be selected to be capable of withstanding high temperatures, such as 300 °C or higher.

[0060] A single load sensor 620 is shown, which can be in the form of a pneumatic or disk dynamometer. In particular, the sensor 620 can include a source of pressurized air or gas that is fed through a pressure regulator into a chamber inside the dynamometer. When a compressive force (such as the weight of a container holding source material or process material) is applied to the top surface of the dynamometer, the flexible diaphragm is compressed. A pressure gauge measures the pneumatic pressure generated by the applied weight / compressive force, and the amount of pressure required to balance the weight of the object being measured can be used to measure the weight. The sensed pressure is converted into an electrical signal that communicates with a controller (such as the one referenced in Figure 1 discussed) for conversion into weight and for calculating the current weight of the material in the container supported by the base heater 610.

[0061] Figure 7 is a flowchart of an exemplary source or process material availability monitoring method 700 that can be performed based on direct container weight measurements through the operation of the reactor system described in Figure 1-6 . Method 700 begins at 705, such as by installing a container weight monitoring assembly (such as the Figure 1 assembly 150) in the reactor system, including providing a sensor assembly within the source container housing. Then, method 700 continues at 710 by receiving output signals from one or more sensors of the sensor assembly that operates to sense changes in the weight of the source container. At step 720, the electrical signals from the sensors are converted, for example by a controller or by a conversion module / device, into a weight (or force) measured for the source container containing a certain volume of source or process material. Method 700 continues at 730, where the controller uses a weight monitoring module to calculate the current weight (or quantity) of the source or process material in the source container based on the container weight from step 720.

[0062] At step 740, it is determined (such as by the monitoring assembly controller) whether the weight calculated in step 730 is at or below a refill alert threshold (such as whether the weight of the material is at or below 100 grams, etc.). If not, then method 700 can continue at step 750 by updating the user interface displayed to the system operator on a display device (such as a computer monitor, client device display, etc.) to reflect the current material weight. Then, method 700 can continue at 710 by receiving additional signals from the sensor assembly. If it is determined at 740 that the material weight is at or below the threshold, then method 700 can continue at 760, where the controller generates a refill alert or warning, which can involve providing a red indicator light in the user interface of the operator's display, can involve providing an audible alert, and / or can involve generating an alert message and transmitting it to the operator (such as sending an email, text message, etc. to the operator's client device). Then, method 700 can end at 790, such as until the container has been refilled.

[0063] In various embodiments of the present specification, the force sensor may be implemented using a compact stainless-steel single-point strain-gauge based load cell, which may have a range of 0 to 100 N. The load cell may be mounted below the precursor container for direct real-time weight measurement of the precursor and the container. In some cases, three load sensors are mounted directly below the container holding plate and equally positioned at 120-degree angles. Then, in operation, the total measured weight will be the sum of the readings of all three load sensors. After each container replacement, the load cell weight measurement response is linear.

[0064] In practice, the rigid gas line affects the actual weight measurement of the load cell by a constant factor. The constant factor depends on the line stiffness. The constant factor generally does not change as long as the container and the gas line do not physically contact or change. Generally, the load cell readings are not affected by the vacuum in the steady state. The load cell selected as the force sensor is compatible with high-temperature environments (such as environments with temperatures up to 225 °C), where the wire material is usually a design limitation.

[0065] The operation of the weight monitoring component includes receiving electrical signals from the load cells and conditioning the electrical signals from each load cell using the signal conditioning of each load cell. A processor executing an algorithm then converts the conditioned signals into weight values using the calibration factors generated for each load cell. Then, the weight values measured by the load cells are compared with a predetermined threshold for the container. Next, if the weight is below the threshold, an alarm is generated; otherwise, the display and the user interface are updated based on the measured weight.

[0066] Figure 8 is a functional block diagram of a reactor system 800 according to an example of the present specification, having a solid precursor monitoring component 850 operable to monitor source availability based on internal tray measurements (e.g., via calculations of the amount of processed or source materials (such as solid precursors 829 etc.) in the source container 820). The reactor system 800 is shown in a simplified form, but those skilled in the art will understand that additional components for performing ALD, CVD, or other semiconductor or manufacturing processes may be included, such as other source containers 820, gas or material distribution systems, system controllers, etc.

[0067] As shown in the figure, the reactor system 800 includes a source housing 810 for accommodating a source container 820. The source housing 810 can be configured as a vacuum oven to heat the source container 820 to a temperature in the range of, for example, 150°C to 300°C or higher, and maintain the internal space 812 in which the source container 820 is placed at a desired pressure, for example, below atmospheric pressure. The source container 820 includes an outer wall 823 and an internal tray 828 adapted to receive and accommodate a certain amount of processing or source material 829, and the internal tray 828 is defined by a side wall 822, a bottom surface 824, and a container lid 826, all of which can be formed of a metal such as aluminum, steel, etc. to facilitate efficient heat transfer to the source material 829.

[0068] The reactor system 800 further includes a set of lid attachment hardware 830, which includes one or more outlet tubes or pipes 832 for fluidly coupling the internal tray 828 to the reaction chamber interior space 842 during the processing operation of the reactor system 800 to facilitate the delivery of the source material (e.g., precursor) 829 to the reaction chamber 840, as shown by the arrow 834. In this regard, the reaction chamber 840 includes a substrate support or pedestal 844 for supporting a substrate (e.g., a wafer) 846 within the reaction chamber interior space 842 of the reaction chamber 840 to expose it to the source material 829.

[0069] In addition to the outlet pipe 832, the lid attachment hardware 830 can include an inlet pipe, a sensor line, etc. In some embodiments, the outlet pipe 832 (and / or the inlet pipe) and other lid attachment hardware 830 can be designed to provide some vertical support for the source container 820. In short, the lid attachment hardware 830 such as the line 832 can be a bellows type, a coiled gas line, a rigid gas line, etc., which can apply a minimum lifting force on the container lid 826 and / or the source container 820.

[0070] To provide a direct measurement and monitoring of the amount of the source material 829 in the source container 820, the reactor system 800 includes a solid precursor monitoring assembly 850. The solid precursor monitoring assembly 850 includes a sensor assembly 852 located between the bottom surface 824 and the outer wall 823 of the internal tray 828. In particular, the sensor assembly 852 includes one or more force or load sensors 854, 856 positioned or disposed between the bottom surface 824 of the internal tray 828 and the outer wall 823, such as load cells, etc. The load sensors 854, 856 are positioned to support the entire weight of the internal tray 828 and the source material 829 (as shown by the arrow F8 to F NAs shown. To this end, the load sensors 854, 856 are devices designed to convert an applied mechanical force (such as a compressive force) into an output signal 857, and the value of the output signal 857 can be used to reflect the magnitude of the force (or the weight of the inner tray 828). In various embodiments, the sensor assembly 852 may include up to four force sensors.

[0071] As shown, the signal 857 output by the load sensors 854, 856 is first transmitted (either wired or wirelessly) via a vacuum electrical feedthrough 843 in the wall of the source housing 810 to a signal conditioning element 858 (one signal conditioning element is provided for each dynamometer or load sensor 854, 856 in most cases) to generate a conditioned signal 859 that is provided to the controller 860 of the solid precursor monitoring assembly 850. The signal conditioning element 858 conditions the electrical signals from each dynamometer or other sensor 854, 856, such as by amplifying the electrical signals from the dynamometers. The controller 860 may take the form of almost any computer device and is shown as including a processor 862 that manages the operation of input and output (I / O) devices 864, and the input and output (I / O) devices 864 are used to receive the signals 857 output by the sensors 854, 856. The processor 862 executes code, instructions, and / or software (which may be in the memory / data storage device 880) to provide the functions of the weight monitoring module 870. The processor 862 also manages the memory storage device 880, including storing and accessing the signal 857, as shown at 882.

[0072] The weight monitoring module 870 is used to process the received load signal 882, including applying a conversion factor 880 from the memory 882 to calculate the current inner tray and source material weight 886. Briefly, the conversion factor 884 is generated by testing and calibrating the sensors 854, 856 to convert the signals 882 indicating the sensed forces F1 to FN into units of force or load, such as grams. The conversion factor 884, which may include an algorithm, may also be used by the weight monitoring module 870 to determine the amount of the source material 829 by first determining the total weight or gross weight of the inner tray 828 and the source material 829 stored in the inner tray 828, and then subtracting the known weight of the inner tray 828 when it is empty.

[0073] Using the calculated source material weight 886 on hand, the weight monitoring module 870 can determine whether a refill is desired or needed. The weight monitoring module 870 can retrieve a refill alert set point 888 (e.g., a minimum threshold for the desired source material 829 in the internal tray 828 for further processing by the reactor system 800, such as 100 grams for some container designs and some specific source materials 829), and compare this to the calculated source weight 886 of the source material 829 currently in the internal tray 828. When the calculated source weight 886 is at or below the set point 888, the weight monitoring module 870 can provide an indicator to the operator of the reactor system 800, such as via an audible alert, a visual alert, a digital message to a client device, and / or other messaging processes, and / or perform other functions as described herein.

[0074] In this regard, the weight monitoring module 870 can include a graphical user interface (GUI) generator 872, which is adapted to generate and display a weight monitoring GUI 892 in a display 890 (or the operator's client device). The weight monitoring GUI 892 can include images and / or text messages that indicate information useful in monitoring the source material 829 and its availability, and the displayed information can include the current amount of the source material 829 directly measured by the component 850 as well as the refill alert set point 888 (e.g., using a display similar to an automotive speedometer). The information displayed in the weight monitoring GUI 892 can also include an indicator that the calculated source weight 886 is below or at the set point 888 (or the set point 888 has not been met), such as a red light when indicating a refill and a green light when not indicating a refill (and in some cases, a yellow light when a refill will soon be desired).

[0075] Figure 9 A source container 900 is shown, which can be used as, for example, Figure 8 the source container 820 in the reactor system 800. The source container 900 includes an outer wall 902 (e.g., outer wall 823) and a lid 904 (e.g., container lid 826). The lid 904 can include lid attachment hardware 906 (such as lid attachment hardware 830). The lid attachment hardware 906 can include bellows-type, coiled gas lines, or rigid gas lines, etc. (input / output lines that form part of the lid attachment hardware) for inputting or outputting materials during substrate processing via a valve 908 coupled to the lid 904 of the source container 900.

[0076] Figure 10 and Figure 11An isometric view and a cross-sectional view of the source container 900 without the lid 904 are further shown respectively. The source container 900 can be used to directly monitor the change in the total weight of the source material (e.g., precursor, such as HFCl4, etc.) during consumption by the reactor system when the weight changes using load sensors 1102 (e.g., load sensors 854 and 856). The load sensors 1102 can be placed below the internal tray 1002 (such as the internal tray 828), in contact with the bottom surface 1104 and the outer wall 902 of the internal tray 1002. The internal tray 1002 includes a top surface 1004 having a recess 1006 adapted to receive a certain volume of the source material. The recess 1006 includes a channel 1008 configured to hold the solid precursor or source material. The channel 1008 can be a serpentine path. When the lid 904 is coupled to the top surface of the outer wall 1010, the top surface 1004 and the recess 1006 are fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber to deliver the source material to the reactor system. The internal tray 1002 also includes the bottom surface 1104 of the internal tray 1002.

[0077] In various embodiments, the source container 900 can include different arrangements of load sensors. For example, one, two, three, or four load sensors 1102 can be provided between the bottom surface 1104 of the internal tray and the outer wall 902. Wires 1106 (e.g., wires compatible with high temperatures within the source container 900 and the source housing 810) are used to communicatively link each sensor 1102 to a signal conditioning device or element (e.g., signal conditioning element 858) via a vacuum feedthrough 1108 (e.g., a feedthrough compatible with high temperatures in the source housing 810) in the source housing 810 or its wall. Before providing the conditioned signal to the tool I / O (e.g., Figure 8 the I / O device 864 for the controller 860 in

[0078] The weight can be proportionally distributed across each load sensor 1102. Thus, the total load can be equal to the weight of the internal tray plus the weight W of the precursor / source in the internal tray 1002 x and the sum of the weights (or sensed loads) W1 to W N changes in proportion to the change in the weight of the source material, such that a conversion factor (e.g., a numerical model relating the change in precursor weight to this sum change in sensed force / load) can be determined via testing and calibration and then applied to the measured values of these forces / loads to calculate the weight of the source material within the internal tray 1002.

[0079] The sensor 1102 is configured for higher temperature applications, such as temperatures greater than 200 °C, 250 °C, or 300 °C, and the operating range of the sensor 1102 should meet or exceed the expected operating temperature. In various embodiments, the system may integrate any suitable load sensor or dynamometer, such as a 30N load sensor with an operating range of 200 °C, a 100N load sensor with an operating range of 200 °C, etc. It may be desirable to modify the communication lines from such sensors to accommodate a particular application, such as the environment within a vacuum oven.

[0080] Figure 12 is a flowchart of an exemplary solid source monitoring method 1200, which may be performed based on direct internal tray weight measurement by incorporating Figure 8-11 the operation of the reactor system described. Method 1200 begins at 1205, for example, by installing a solid precursor monitoring assembly (such as Figure 8 assembly 850) in the reactor system, including providing a sensor assembly between the bottom surface of the internal tray (such as bottom surface 1104 of internal tray 1002) and the outer wall of the source container (such as outer wall of source container 902). Then, method 1200 continues at 1210, where output signals from one or more sensors of the sensor assembly are received, and the sensor assembly operates to sense changes in the weight of the internal tray of the source container. At step 1220, the electrical signal from the sensor is converted, for example, by a controller or by a conversion module / device, into a weight (or force) measured for the internal tray of the source container containing a certain volume of source material. Method 1200 continues at 1230, where the controller uses a weight monitoring module to calculate the current weight (or amount) of the source material in the source container based on the internal tray weight of step 1220.

[0081] In step 1240, it is determined (e.g., by monitoring the component controller) whether the weight calculated in step 1230 is at or below a refill alert threshold (e.g., whether the weight of the material is at or below 100 grams, etc.). If not, method 1200 may continue at step 1250, updating the user interface displayed to the system operator on a display device (e.g., a computer monitor, a client device display, etc.) to reflect the current source material weight. Then, method 1200 may continue at 1210, receiving an additional signal from the sensor component. If it is determined at 1240 that the material weight is at or below the threshold, method 1200 may continue at 1260, where the controller generates a refill alert or warning, which may involve providing a red indicator light in the user interface of the operator's display, may involve providing an audible alert, and / or may involve generating an alert message and transmitting it to the operator (e.g., sending an email, a text message, etc. to the operator's client device). Then, method 1200 may end at 1290, for example, until the container has been refilled. Once the source container has been refilled, method 1200 will restart at step 1210.

[0082] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described herein with respect to specific embodiments. However, these benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced should not be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of this disclosure.

[0083] References throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language do not imply that all features and advantages that can be realized by this disclosure should be in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to features and advantages is understood to mean that a particular feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter disclosed herein. Thus, the discussion of features and advantages throughout this specification and similar language may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

[0084] Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of this disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the subject matter of this application may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of this disclosure. Additionally, in some cases, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the subject matter of this disclosure. No claim element is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless the element expressly recites the phrase "means for".

[0085] The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims, wherein, unless expressly stated otherwise, an element in the singular does not mean "one and only one" but "one or more." It should be understood that, unless otherwise specifically stated, references to "a," "an," and / or "the" may include one or more than one, and references to items in the singular may also include items in the plural. Additionally, the term "plurality" may be defined as "at least two." As used herein, when used in conjunction with a list of items, the phrase "at least one" means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used, and it may be only one item from the list. The item may be a particular object, thing, or category. Further, when a phrase such as "at least one of A, B, and C" is used in a claim, the phrase is intended to be interpreted to mean that A may exist alone in an embodiment, B may exist alone in an embodiment, C may exist alone in an embodiment, or any combination of elements A, B, and C may exist in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A, B, and C. In some cases, "at least one of item A, item B, and item C" may mean, for example but not limited to, two of item A, one of item B, and ten of item C; four of item B and seven of item C; or some other suitable combination.

[0086] All ranges and ratio limits disclosed herein may be combined. Unless otherwise indicated, the terms "first," "second," etc. are used herein only as labels and are not intended to impose an order, position, or rank requirement on the items to which these terms refer. Additionally, reference to, for example, a "second" item does not require or preclude the existence of, for example, a "first" or lower-numbered item, and / or, for example, a "third" or higher-numbered item.

[0087] Any reference to attachment, fixation, connection, etc. may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, complete, and / or any other possible attachment options. Additionally, any reference to non-contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimal contact. In the above description, certain terms such as "upper," "lower," "upper portion," "lower portion," "horizontal," "vertical," "left," "right," etc. may be used. These terms are used to provide some clarity in the description when dealing with relative relationships. However, these terms do not imply absolute relationships, positions, and / or orientations. For example, for an object, the "upper" surface may simply become the "lower" surface by flipping the object. Nevertheless, it is still the same object.

[0088] In addition, examples of one element "coupled" to another element in this specification can include direct and indirect couplings. A direct coupling can be defined as one element being coupled to another element and making some contact with the other element. An indirect coupling can be defined as a coupling between two elements that do not directly contact each other, but have one or more additional elements between the coupled elements. In addition, as used herein, fixing one element to another element can include direct fixing and indirect fixing. In addition, as used herein, "adjacent" does not necessarily mean in contact. For example, one element can be adjacent to another element without contacting that element.

[0089] Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are set forth herein, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, although the reactor system is described in connection with various specific configurations, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to these examples. Various modifications, variations, and enhancements can be made to the systems and methods set forth herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0090] The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of various systems, components, and configurations, as well as other features, functions, acts, and / or properties disclosed herein, and any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A reactor system, comprising: A reaction chamber; A source housing; A source container located in the source housing, the source container comprising: An internal tray having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface having a recess adapted to receive a volume of source material, wherein the top surface is fluidly connected to the reaction chamber; and An outer wall configured to receive the internal tray; and A solid precursor monitoring system comprising a sensor assembly positioned between the bottom surface of the internal tray and the outer wall, wherein the sensor assembly includes a force sensor configured to measure the combined weight of the internal tray and the source material.

2. The reactor system according to claim 1, wherein, The force sensor is configured to output a signal indicative of the force exerted by the internal tray.

3. The reactor system according to claim 1, wherein, The force sensor includes a dynamometer configured to operate at a temperature between about 100 °C and about 250 °C.

4. The reactor system according to claim 1, wherein, The source container further includes a lid and lid attachment means.

5. The reactor system according to claim 4, wherein The solid precursor monitoring system further includes a controller configured to receive and process signals from the force sensor and calculate the weight of the source material based on the signals.

6. The reactor system according to claim 5, wherein, The controller applies a conversion factor to the combined weight to calculate the weight of the source material.

7. The reactor system according to claim 5, wherein, The controller generates an indicator based on a comparison of the weight of the source material with a minimum threshold.

8. The reactor system according to claim 5, wherein, The lid attachment means includes an input line and an output line, wherein each of the input line and the output line includes a bellows or a coiled tube.

9. The reactor system according to claim 8, wherein, The recess includes a channel configured to hold a solid precursor.

10. The reactor system according to claim 5, wherein, The controller is configured to control the temperature of the source container at an operating temperature greater than 150 °C.

11. A solid precursor monitoring system, comprising: A source housing; A source container located in the source housing, the source container comprising: An internal tray adapted to receive a volume of source material; and An outer wall of the source container configured to receive the internal tray; A force sensor positioned adjacent to and in contact with the bottom wall of the internal tray and the outer wall of the source container, wherein the force sensor is configured to output a signal indicative of the force applied to the force sensor; and A controller configured to process the signal to calculate the weight of the source material.

12. The solid precursor monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein, The force sensor includes a dynamometer configured to operate at a temperature between about 100 °C and about 250 °C.

13. The solid precursor monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein, The source container includes a lid and lid attachment means.

14. The solid precursor monitoring system according to claim 13, wherein, The controller is configured to apply a conversion factor to the combined weight of the internal tray and the source material to determine the amount of the source material.

15. The solid precursor monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein, The controller generates an indicator indicative of the amount of the source material.

16. The solid precursor monitoring system according to claim 14, wherein, The lid attachment means includes an input line and an output line, wherein each of the input line and the output line includes a bellows or a coiled tube.

17. A method of monitoring the availability of source material in a reactor system, comprising: Receiving a signal from a force sensor positioned between the bottom surface of an internal tray of a source container in the reactor system and the outer wall of the source container; And Calculating, by a controller, the weight of the source material in the internal tray of the source container.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, Calculating, by the controller, includes applying a conversion factor to the calculated combined weight of the internal tray and the source material.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The force sensor includes a dynamometer configured to operate at a temperature between about 100 °C and about 250 °C.

20. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: Comparing, by the controller, the weight of the source material with a minimum threshold; And a refill alert is generated by the controller based on the comparison.

Images