Prevention of atmosphere exposure in gas delivery system

Abstract

Semiconductor processing apparatuses and techniques are provided. Some apparatuses may have a process chamber having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having a first fluidic disconnect with a first port and a gas distributor configured to flow fluid into a process volume, and the second portion having a second fluidic disconnect with a second port, a fluid delivery system having a plurality of gas source manifolds, a first delivery portion in the first portion and having a first delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the first port, and a second delivery portion in the second portion and having a second delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the second port, and a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the process chamber and the fluid delivery system.

Description

PREVENTION OF ATMOSPHERE EXPOSURE IN GAS DELIVERY SYSTEMCROSS-REFERENCES

[0001] A PCT Request Form is filed concurrently with this specification as part of the present application. Each application that the present application claims benefit of or priority to as identified in the concurrently filed PCT Request Form is incorporated by reference herein in their entireties and for all purposes.BACKGROUND

[0002] Semiconductor manufacturing typically involves one or more process operations to deposit and / or etch a structure on or in a semiconductor wafer (or substrate). Such processes may employ one or more vapor-phase delivery systems in which vapor-phase and sometimes gas precursors are reacted with and / or on a surface of a substrate to deposit material thereon or to remove material therefrom. Although many forms of vapor-phase delivery systems exist, they are generally configured to provide controlled gas flow and delivery of precursors, which may otherwise be in a liquid- or solid-phase at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions.

[0003] The background provided herein is for the purposes of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent that it is described in this background, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the disclosure.SUMMARY

[0004] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. The following, non-limiting implementations are considered part of the disclosure; other implementations will be evident from the entirety of this disclosure and the accompanying drawings as well.

[0005] Some aspects provide systems, apparatuses, and methods to prevent or at least reduce the likelihood of exposure of gas delivery conduits to atmosphere during, for example,process chamber maintenance procedures and replacement of precursor ampoules.

[0006] In some embodiments, a semiconductor processing apparatus may be provided. The semiconductor processing apparatus may have a process chamber having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having a first fluidic disconnect with a first port and a gas distributor configured to flow fluid into a process volume, and the second portion having a second fluidic disconnect with a second port, a fluid delivery system having a plurality of gas source manifolds, a first delivery portion in the first portion and having a first delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the first port, and a second delivery portion in the second portion and having a second delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the second port, and a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the process chamber and the fluid delivery system. The first portion may be movably mated with the second portion in a first configuration and spaced apart from the second portion in a second configuration, in the first configuration, the first port of the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and in the second configuration the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically disconnected from the second fluidic disconnect thereby causing the first delivery portion to be fluidically disconnected from the second delivery portion. The instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow one or more first process chemistries along a first flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the first flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least the first delivery conduit, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least the second delivery conduit, and while in the second configuration, flow a first purge gas along the first section and through the first port, and flow, while flowing the first purge gas, a second purge gas along the second section and through the second port.

[0007] In some embodiments, the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow, while in the first configuration, one or more second process chemistries to the gas distributor along a second flow path through only the first delivery portion, and flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and second purge gas, a third purge gas along the second flow path and throughthe gas distributor.

[0008] In some such embodiments, the second flow path and the first section of the first flow path in the first portion may partially overlap.

[0009] In some such embodiments, the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to close a first valve along the second flow path and flow the one or more first process chemistries along the first flow path to the gas distributor and thereby fluidically isolate an upstream section of the second flow path from the overlapping section of the second flow path and the first flow path, and close a second valve along the first flow path while flowing the one or more second process chemistries along the second flow path to the gas distributor and thereby fluidically isolate an upstream section of the first flow path from the overlapping section of the second flow path and the first flow path.

[0010] In one of the above embodiments, the third purge gas may flow along the overlapping section of the first flow path and the second flow path to the gas distributor.

[0011] In any one of the above embodiments, the first fluidic disconnect may have a third port, the second fluidic disconnect may have a fourth port, in the first configuration, the third port of the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically connected to the fourth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a second fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow one or more third process chemistries along a third flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the third flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least a third delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the third port, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least a fourth delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the fourth port, and flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and second purge gas a fourth purge gas along the first section of the third flow path and through the third port, and a fifth purge gas along the second section of the third flow path and through the fourth port.

[0012] In some such embodiments, the fourth purge gas may be the first purge gas, and the fifth purge gas may be the second purge gas.

[0013] In one of the above embodiments, the first section of the third flow path and the firstsection of the first flow path may partially overlap.

[0014] In any one of the above embodiments, the fluid delivery system may further include a vacuum pump fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to pump down to vacuum, while in the first configuration, the first section of the first flow path through the first port and the second port.

[0015] In some such embodiments, the first fluidic disconnect may have a fifth port, the second fluidic disconnect may have a sixth port, in the first configuration, the fifth port of the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically connected to the sixth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a third fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to pump down to vacuum, while in the first configuration, a fourth flow path of the first delivery portion in the first portion through the fifth port, the sixth port, and the second fluidic disconnect.

[0016] In any one of the above embodiments, the fluid delivery system may further include a vapor delivery apparatus having a reservoir with a precursor, an inlet, and an outlet, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow gas into the inlet and flow gas and precursor out of the outlet to the gas distributor along a fifth flow path, and flow a sixth purge gas into the inlet and out the outlet along a section of the fifth flow path and without passing through the reservoir.

[0017] In some such embodiments, the first fluidic disconnect my have a seventh port, the second fluidic disconnect may have an eighth port, in the first configuration, the seventh port of the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically connected to the eighth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a fourth fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and the second purge gas the sixth purge gas out of the outlet of the reservoir, along a section of the fifth flow path and out of the seventh port, and a seventh purge gas through the second fluidic disconnect and out the eighth port.

[0018] In any one of the above embodiments, in the second configuration the first portionand second portion may be offset from each other by at least one foot.

[0019] In any one of the above embodiments, processing operations may not be performed while in the second configuration.

[0020] In any one of the above embodiments, the first portion may be a removable top of a multi-station semiconductor processing apparatus.

[0021] In any one of the above embodiments, the one or more first process chemistries may be flowed along the first flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor during a first time interval, the first purge gas may be flowed along the first section of the first flow path in the first portion and through the first port during a second time interval in which the first portion is in the second configuration, and the second purge gas may be flowed along the second section of the first flow path in the second portion and through the second port during the second time interval.

[0022] In some embodiments, a semiconductor processing apparatus may be provided. The semiconductor processing apparatus may have a process chamber having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having a first fluidic disconnect with a first port and a gas distributor configured to flow fluid into a process volume, and the second portion having a second fluidic disconnect with a second port, a fluid delivery system having a plurality of gas source manifolds, a first delivery portion in the first portion and having a first delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the first port, and a second delivery portion in the second portion and having a second delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the second port, and a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the process chamber and the fluid delivery system. The first portion may be movably mated with the second portion in a first configuration and spaced apart from the second portion in a second configuration, in the first configuration, the first port of the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and in the second configuration the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically disconnected from the second fluidic disconnect thereby causing the first delivery portion to be fluidically disconnected from the second delivery portion. The instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow one or more first process chemistries along a first flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the firstdelivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the first flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least the first delivery conduit, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least the second delivery conduit, and concurrently flow, while in the second configuration, a first purge gas along the first section and through the first port, and a second purge gas along the second section and through the second port.

[0023] In some embodiments, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions may be provided. The one or more non-transitory computer- readable media storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a semiconductor processing tool having a process chamber with a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having a first fluidic disconnect with a first port and a gas distributor configured to flow fluid into a process volume, and the second portion having a second fluidic disconnect with a second port, and a fluid delivery system having a plurality of gas source manifolds, a first delivery portion in the first portion, and a second delivery portion in the second portion, may cause the one or more processors to cause the first portion and the second portion to be in a first configuration such that the first portion is movably mated with the second portion, wherein in the first configuration, the first port of the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, cause the first portion and the second portion to be in a second configuration in which the first portion is spaced apart from the second portion, wherein in the second configuration the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically disconnected from the second fluidic disconnect thereby causing the first delivery portion to be fluidically disconnected from the second delivery portion, cause the fluid delivery system to flow one or more first process chemistries along a first flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the first flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least the first delivery conduit, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least the second delivery conduit, and while in the second configuration flow a first purge gas along the first section of the first flow path and through the first port, and flow, while flowing the first purge gas, a second purge gas along the second section of the first flow path and through the second port.

[0024] In some such embodiments, the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow, while in the first configuration, one or more second process chemistries to the gas distributor along a second flow path through only the first delivery portion, and flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and second purge gas, a third purge gas along the second flow path and through the gas distributor.

[0025] In some such embodiments, the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to close a first valve along the second flow path and flow the one or more first process chemistries along the first flow path to the gas distributor and thereby fluidically isolate an upstream section of the second flow path from an overlapping section of the second flow path and the first flow path, and close a second valve along the first flow path while flowing the one or more second process chemistries along the second flow path to the gas distributor and thereby fluidically isolate an upstream section of the first flow path from the overlapping section of the second flow path and the first flow path.

[0026] In any of the above embodiments, the first fluidic disconnect may have a third port, the second fluidic disconnect may have a fourth port, in the first configuration, the third port of the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically connected to the fourth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a second fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow one or more third process chemistries along a third flow path through the fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the third flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least a third delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the third port, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least a fourth delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the fourth port, and flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and second purge gas a fourth purge gas along the first section of the third flow path and through the third port, and a fifth purge gas along the second section of the third flow path and through the fourth port.

[0027] In any of the above embodiments, the fluid delivery system may further include a vacuum pump fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluiddelivery system to pump down to vacuum, while in the first configuration, the first delivery portion of the first flow path through the first port and the second port.

[0028] In any of the above embodiments, the first fluidic disconnect may have a fifth port, the second fluidic disconnect may have a sixth port, in the first configuration, the fifth port of the first fluidic disconnect may be fluidically connected to the sixth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a third fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to pump down to vacuum, while in the first configuration, a fourth flow path of the first delivery portion in the first portion through the fifth port, the sixth port, and the second fluidic disconnect.

[0029] In any of the above embodiments, the fluid delivery system may further include a vapor delivery apparatus having a reservoir with a precursor, an inlet, and an outlet, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow gas into the inlet and flow gas and precursor out of the outlet to the gas distributor along a fifth flow path, and flow a sixth purge gas into the inlet and out the outlet without passing through the reservoir.

[0030] Additional aspects will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and, in part, will be apparent from the disclosure, or may be learned by practice of the disclosed aspects and / or the claimed subject matter.

[0031] The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are illustrative and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the claimed subject matter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Various aspects disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements.

[0033] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a semiconductor processing system according to some aspects.

[0034] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the semiconductor processing system of FIG. 1 according to some aspects.

[0035] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates the semiconductor processing system of FIG. 1 according to some aspects.

[0036] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a portion of a gas and vapor delivery system of the semiconductor processing system of FIG. 1 according to some aspects.

[0037] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates another portion of the gas and vapor delivery system of the semiconductor processing system of FIG. 1 according to some aspects.

[0038] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates yet another portion of the gas and vapor delivery system of the semiconductor processing system of FIGS. 1 and 4 according to some aspects.

[0039] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a partially exploded perspective view of a portion of a process chamber of FIGS. 1-3 including a fluidic disconnect according to some aspects.

[0040] FIG. 8 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a fluidic disconnect of FIG. 7 according to some aspects.

[0041] FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a partial perspective view of a first part of the process chamber of FIG. 7 according to some aspects.

[0042] FIG. 10 schematically illustrates an orthographic view of the first part of the process chamber of FIGS. 7 and 9 according to some aspects.

[0043] FIG. 11 schematically illustrates a partial perspective view of a second portion of the process chamber of FIG. 7 according to some aspects.

[0044] FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a partial orthographic view of the second portion of the process chamber of FIGS. 7 and 11 according to some aspects.

[0045] FIG. 13A schematically illustrates various an operational state of a portion the system of FIG. 4 according to some aspects.

[0046] FIG. 13B schematically illustrates an operational state of the system of FIG. 4 according to some aspects.

[0047] FIG. 13C schematically illustrates another operational state of the portion of the system of FIG. 13A according to some aspects.

[0048] FIG. 13D schematically illustrates an operational state of another portion of the system of FIG. 4 according to some aspects.

[0049] FIG. 13E schematically illustrates another operational state of the portion of the system of FIG. 13D according to some aspects.

[0050] FIG. 14 illustrates purge gas flows out of a first fluidic disconnect, a second fluidic disconnect, and a gas distributor of the apparatus of FIG. 2 while in the second configuration according to some aspects.

[0051] FIG. 15 illustrates another configuration of the apparatus of FIG. 2 while in the second configuration according to some aspects.

[0052] FIG. 16 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 5 according to some aspects.

[0053] FIG. 17 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 5 according to some aspects.

[0054] FIG. 18 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 4 according to some aspects.

[0055] FIG. 19 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 6 according to some aspects.

[0056] FIG. 20 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 6 according to some aspects.

[0057] FIG. 21 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 5 according to some aspects.

[0058] FIG. 22 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 5 according to some aspects.

[0059] FIG. 23 schematically illustrates a multi-station processing tool according to some aspects.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME ASPECTS

[0060] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects. The disclosed aspects may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known process operations have not been described in detail to not unnecessarily obscure the disclosed aspects. While the disclosed aspects will be described in conjunction with specific aspects, it will be understoodthat it is not intended to limit the disclosed aspects.

[0061] In this application, the terms "semiconductor wafer," "wafer," "substrate," "wafer substrate" and "partially fabricated integrated circuit" are used interchangeably. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the term "partially fabricated integrated circuit" can refer to a silicon wafer during any of many stages of integrated circuit fabrication thereon. A wafer or substrate used in the semiconductor device industry typically has a diameter of 200 mm, or 300 mm, or 450 mm. In addition to semiconductor wafers, other work pieces that may take advantage of the disclosed aspects include various articles, such as printed circuit boards, magnetic recording media, magnetic recording sensors, mirrors, optical elements, micromechanical devices, and the like.Context

[0062] As previously mentioned, various semiconductor manufacturing processes (such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), atomic layer etching (ALE), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), chemical vapor etching (CVE), and the like, as well as plasma-enhanced versions of the same) may employ at least one vapor-phase delivery system in which vapor-phase and sometimes gas precursors are reacted with and / or on a surface of a substrate to deposit material thereon or remove material therefrom. Although many forms of vapor-phase delivery systems exist, they are usually configured to provide controlled gas flow, vaporization, and delivery of precursors, which may otherwise be in a liquid- or solid-phase at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions. Although the transition from a solid-phase directly to a gaseous-phase is technically a sublimation process, as used herein, terms like "vaporization" are used to refer to the transition from a solid- or liquid-phase to a gaseous-phase. Whatever the case, performing maintenance on semiconductor processing chambers including such vapor-phase delivery systems can prove to be problematic. For instance, when a semiconductor processing chamber is to be opened to perform system maintenance or the supply of precursor is to be changed or otherwise replenished, various gas delivery paths may be exposed to the atmosphere of an ambient environment via chamber disconnects and gas distributors. The makeup of some process chemistries, gases, vapors, liquids, and / or precursors may react adversely to one or more atmospheric components (e.g., atmospheric moisture) that can lead to the accumulation of unwanted material in the various gas delivery paths. In some cases, it may be too difficult or uneconomical to remove this accumulated material, and as such, may not only result in thereplacement of components and / or systems before their expected lifespans, but also undesired downtime of the associated semiconductor processing tools. Accordingly, various aspects are directed towards providing effective, cost-efficient techniques to prevent or at least reduce the likelihood of exposing the various gas delivery paths to the atmosphere of an ambient environment. That being said, some aspects enable incidentally introduced atmosphere to be pumped out of the system before returning a semiconductor processing tool to service.Systems for Semiconductor Processing

[0063] FIGS. 1-3 schematically illustrate a semiconductor processing system according to some aspects. FIGS. 4-6 schematically illustrate portions of a fluid delivery network of the semiconductor processing system of FIGS. 1-3 according to some aspects.

[0064] Referring to FIGS. 1-6, semiconductor processing system (or system) 100 may include process chamber 101 fluidically connected to fluid delivery network (or system) 400, which is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 as delivery portions 400A and 400B. The fluid delivery system 400 is configured to deliver process gases, vapors, chemistries, compounds, mixtures, liquids, and the like for processing semiconductor substrates or wafers. The term "fluid" may include any gas, liquid, material in vapor form, or a combination thereof including, for example, one gas, a combination of different gases, one liquid, a combination of liquids, a combination of one or more liquids and one or more gases, a vaporized item or compound, one or more vaporized items or compounds, one or more vaporized items or compounds and one or more gases, one or more vaporized items or compounds and one or more liquids, one or more vaporized items or compounds along with one or more gases and one or more liquids. As used herein, the fluid delivery system 400 may be considered a gas delivery system, a liquid delivery system, a vapor delivery system, or a combination thereof, in some implementations. The term "gas" may include one or more gases, a mixture of one or more gases and other elements or compounds such as a gas and a precursor, a process gas, a process chemistry, or a combination thereof. Process chamber 101 may include first portion 105 and second portion 107 moveably mated with first portion 105. In some cases, first portion 105 may define a lower portion (or module) of process chamber 101 in which at least one internal cavity region (or enclosure) 109 may be formed and second portion 107 may define an upper portion (or lid) of process chamber 101. At least one of first and second portions 105 and 107 may be configured to translate in (or along) an axial direction, e.g., a direction parallel (or substantially parallel) to the Z-axisdepicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. This may allow access to at least internal cavity region 109 of process chamber 101. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, at least one actuator (e.g., actuator 111) may be used to cause, at least in part, second portion 107 to be displaced in the axial direction along a plurality of support rails (e.g., support rails 113 and 115) of a support structure (or frame). In some cases, actuator 111 may be any suitable mechanism capable of inducing linear motion, such as a stepper motor, servomotor, etc., that is coupled to at least one of process chamber 101 and the support structure, but implementations are not limited thereto. For instance, second portion 107 may, in some cases, be lifted away from first portion 105 via an integrated or detachable tool lift, hoist, robotic arm, etc. Further, the support structure may be configured to support process chamber 101 in an elevated position from floor 117 of, for example, a fabrication facility. As such, the support rails (such as support rails 113 and 115) of the support structure may be laterally reinforced via one or more lateral and / or cross braces, such as lateral braces 119 and 121. The first and second portions 105 and 107 separate from each other at a location referred to as a split plane 104.

[0065] Adverting momentarily to FIG. 3, some additional features of process chamber (or chamber) 101 will now be described. As mentioned, chamber 101 may be divided into first portion 105 and second portion 107 moveably mated to first portion 105; these portions 105 and 107 are the same as in FIGS. 1 and 2, although illustrated differently in FIG. 3. In a first position, state, or configuration, such as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, first and second portions 105 and 107 may be mated together to enclose a space at least partially defined by internal cavity region 109. In a second position, state, or configuration, such as illustrated in FIG. 2, second portion 107 may be lifted away from first portion 105 to allow access to at least internal cavity region 109. A center column 302 may be configured to support pedestal 301 within internal cavity region 109 when, for example, a surface of wafer 303 is being processed, e.g., when a film is being formed on a surface of wafer 303, a feature is being etched in the surface of wafer 303, or a structure is being formed on the surface of wafer 303, etc.

[0066] In accordance with some aspects, pedestal 301 may be, or include, a powered electrode. As such, pedestal 301 may be electrically coupled to power supply 305 via match network 307. To this end, power supply 305 may be controlled by control module (or controller) 309. In some implementations, power may be provided to gas distributor 311 instead of (or in addition to) pedestal 301. Control module 309 may be configured tooperate aspects of system 100 by executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions defining at least one process recipe. As such, control module 309 may set various operational inputs for defining a process recipe, such as power levels, pressurization levels, timing parameters, process gases, precursor supply, mechanical movement of wafer 303, height of wafer 303 from pedestal 301, thermal control of one or more components of chamber 101, operation of one or more valves during wafer processing, operation of one or more valves during maintenance of system 100, etc.

[0067] According to some aspects, the center column 302 may include a lift pin mechanism communicatively coupled to lift pins. The lift pin mechanism and, thereby, the lift pins may be controlled by a lift pin control signal from, for instance, control module 309. The lift pins may be used to raise wafer 303 from pedestal 301 to allow an end-effector to pick wafer 303 and to lower wafer 303 after being placed by the end end-effector. In some cases, the lift pins may be part of the center column 302. To this end, chamber 101 may include chamber transport port 310 through which the end-effector may introduce or remove wafer 303 from chamber 101. In some instances, relative displacement between pedestal 301 and gas distributor 311 may be utilized to provide a controlled separation of wafer 303 from a surface of gas distributor 311 facing wafer 303. The controlled separation of wafer 303 from a surface of gas distributor 311 may also be configured to control a size of process volume 313 in which at least vapor-phase precursor may be distributed via gas distributor 311. Chamber 101 may also include openings 105A and 107A through which portions of the support column 302, pedestal 301, and gas distributor 311 extend, such as a stem portion of and the gas distributor 311. Although gas distributor 311 is shown with a showerhead configuration (e.g., a chandelier style), aspects are not limited thereto. For instance, gas distributor 311 may be formed as a top plate, and thereby, incorporated as a portion of second portion 107 of chamber 101. Any other suitable form of gas distributor may be utilized; however, for convenience, gas distributor 311 will be described having a showerhead configuration.

[0068] Fluid delivery within a semiconductor processing apparatus as provided herein is complex, intricate, challenging to control, and uses numerous pipes, conduits, valves, fittings, flow control devices, heaters, volatile gases, and the like. Delivering and controlling the fluid flows within such an apparatus is more challenging when the portions of the apparatus are separable, like portions 105 and 107 of apparatus 100 in FIGS. 1-3. As provided herein, toenable fluid delivery through separable portions or parts, a fluidic disconnect is utilized that provides one or more fluidic connections between the portions that can be repeatedly connected and disconnected from each other. When connected, fluid can travel between the two movable portions through the fluidic disconnect and when disconnected, fluid cannot travel between the two separable portions through the fluidic disconnect. When the two portions are separated, one or more ports or openings of the apparatus 100, such as ports of the fluidic disconnect and a gas distributor, may become exposed to the atmosphere or environment in the processing facility which may allow for unwanted moisture and / or contaminant ingress into the sensitive fluid delivery system. The moisture can react with the chemistries used in semiconductor processing and thereby cause further adverse reactions in and around the apparatus. These reactions may adversely affect the fluid delivery system and wafer processing. Described herein are techniques and apparatuses to, among other things, prevent unwanted moisture and contaminant ingress to the semiconductor processing apparatus having separable portions when such portions are separated.

[0069] As further introduction and context, aspects of the fluid delivery system in some implementations will now be discussed. System 100 may further include one or more fluid sources 315 and 316, e.g., gas chemistry supplies from a facility and / or purge (e.g., inert) gases. Depending on the process(es) being performed, control module 309 may control the delivery of one or more gases from fluid sources 315 as will become more apparent below. The one or more gases may be distributed at least within process volume 313 via gas distributor 311. In some instances, gas supply manifold 317 may be f luidica lly interposed between fluid sources 315 and 316, and gas distributor 311. Appropriate valving and mass flow control mechanisms may be employed and controlled via control module 309 to ensure suitable gases are delivered during, for example, deposition, etching, and / or plasma treatment phases of a process. To this end, the flow of gases may be provided to gas supply manifold 317 via fluidic disconnect 131 as will become more apparent below. It is generally noted that fluidic disconnect 131 may include additional subparts and elements, such as fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 (also shown in FIGS.1 and 2), and some such elements of the fluidic disconnect 131 are connected to the first and second portions 107 and 105, respectively, of process chamber 101, such as fluidic disconnect 125 connected to second portion 107, and fluidic disconnect 129 connected to first portion 105. The fluidic disconnects 125 and 129, are thereby configured to mate together to form one or more flow pathways across split plane 104 of process chamber 101. In some instances,fluidic disconnect 131 may be thermally controlled via thermal system 325, but implementations are not limited thereto.

[0070] Gas may flow into gas distributor 311 from gas supply manifold 317 and output from gas distributor 311 as gas flow 319. Gas flow 319 may be distributed in region (or process volume) 313, which may be formed between wafer 303 and a respective surface of gas distributor 311. Although illustrated as a rectangular area, region 313 may be more of a nebulous cloud-like region in which, for instance, plasma may be generated and / or one or more process gases, purge gases, or both process and purge gases may flow. In some cases, gas flow 319 may include one or more vapor-phase precursors exhibiting a solid- or liquidphase at ambient temperature and pressure conditions of a fabrication facility. The delivery of one or more process gases, purge gases, or both process and purge gases will now be described in more detail in association with FIGS. 1, 2, and 4-6. It is noted, however, that fluidic disconnect 131, fluid sources 315 and 316, and gas supply manifold 317 may be defined by various portions of FIGS. 4-6 and may be generally referred to as portions of a gas and vapor supply system 400 or system 400.

[0071] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4-6, system 400 may include first delivery portion 400A and second delivery portion 400B. First delivery portion 400A may include vapor delivery apparatus (or apparatus) 401 fluidically connected with gas distributor 311. Apparatus 401 may be configured to supply one or more precursors (or reactants) to gas distributor 311 in a vapor form. In some cases, the precursor(s) may be entrained in at least one carrier gas and flowed into gas distributor 311 via one or more passageways, which may be fluidically connected to gas distributor 311 via conduit fitting 403, such as a tee fitting. It is noted that the carrier gas may be at least one gas that is chemically inert with respect to the other reactants / process gas(es) utilized to process a semiconductor wafer. For instance, that carrier gas may include argon, helium, neon, nitrogen, and / or the like.

[0072] As further illustrated in FIG. 6 which schematically illustrates yet another portion of the gas and vapor delivery system of the semiconductor processing system of FIGS. 1 and 4 according to some aspects, apparatus 401 (also referred to as system 401) may include reservoir (or ampoule) 405 having internal volume 407 configured to store an amount of precursor 409 therein, such as in a solid- and / or a liquid-phase. In some implementations, reservoir 405 may be made of stainless steel or any other suitable material that is chemicallycompatible or inert with respect to reactant stored therein or flowed therethrough. Reservoir 405 may be heated to a desired temperature (or temperature range) via heater (e.g., a heating jacket, etc.) and carrier gas may be flowed through reservoir 411 at or near the temperature to achieve a desired vapor flow rate from apparatus 401. In this manner, at least some of precursor 409 may become entrained in the carrier gas flow and may be flowed out of reservoir 405 and to process chamber 101 by way of conduit fitting 403.

[0073] Carrier gas may be flowed to reservoir 405 from carrier gas source 413 by way of one or more carrier gas inlets, such as at least one of carrier gas inlets 415 and 417, and one or more valves, such as at least one of valves 419 and 421. Carrier gas source 413 may be, for example, a facility gas source configured to supply carrier gas to at least one semiconductor processing tool or component, such as apparatus 401. Further, the flow of carrier gas from carrier gas source 413 to reservoir 405 may be regulated by, for example, at least one of flow controller 423 (e.g., a mass flow controller) and any other suitable control device or mechanism, such as controller 425. In some cases, controller 425 may be a system controller, such as control module 309 of FIG. 3, configured to control process conditions and hardware states of apparatus 401 and / or process chamber 101. To this end, controller 425 and flow controller 423 may be communicatively coupled to one another, and thereby, configured to share information that may be utilized to control the process conditions and hardware states of apparatus 401 and / or process chamber 101.

[0074] In some implementations, reservoir 405 may be configured as an intermediate source of precursor 409. For example, apparatus 401 may be configured to supply one or more vaporphase precursors to at least one gas distributor of process chamber 101 by vaporizing precursor that exhibits a liquid- or solid-phase at ambient temperature and pressure conditions. For convenience, it will be, hereinafter, assumed that precursor 409 exhibits a solid-phase at ambient temperature and pressure conditions, but should be understood to also include liquidphase precursor aspects. Bulk precursor may be stored in bulk storage (or tank) 427, which may include one or more heaters configured to transition and / or maintain the precursor in a liquid-phase for delivery to reservoir 405 by way of one or more precursor supply inlets (e.g., precursor supply inlets 429 and 431) and one or more valves, such as valve 433. Flow controller 435 (e.g., a liquid flow controller) or any other suitable control device or mechanism of or associated with apparatus 401 (such as controller 425) may be configured to regulate theflow (e.g., mass flow, volumetric flow, etc.) of liquid-phase precursor from bulk supply 427 to reservoir 405 by controlling the operation of, for instance, one or more valves, e.g., valve 433, pumps, gas sources, etc., of system 400. To this end, flow controller 435 may be configured to receive feedback information (such as at least one of temperature, pressure, volumetric flow, etc.) from one or more sensors positioned in and / or along various points of reservoir 405, bulk supply 427, and / or delivery conduits between bulk supply 427 and reservoir 405. In some cases, the one or more sensors may include at least one level sensor 436 and / or spill detection sensor 438. The one or more level sensors 436 may be configured to provide an indication of an amount of precursor 409 stored in reservoir 405, and spill detection sensor 438 may be configured to provide an indication of whether or not precursor is leaking from apparatus 401, reservoir 405, or a component thereof. This feedback information may be utilized by, for example, flow controller 435 to regulate the flow of liquid-phase precursor from bulk supply 427 to reservoir 405, and in some instances, the flow of vapor-phase precursor from reservoir 405 to process chamber 101. Flow controller 435 may also be configured to draw and / or replenish reservoir 405 using precursor from bulk supply 427 in any suitable fashion, such as in an on-demand, scheduled, and / or randomized manner and / or based on any suitable information, such as supply level information, spill detection information, etc. In some cases, flow controller 435 may be communicatively coupled to controller 425, and thereby, configured to share information that may be utilized to control the process conditions and hardware states of system 400, apparatus 401, and / or process chamber 101 similar to how flow controller 423 and controller 425 may share information. In some cases, reservoir 405 may correspond to an ampoule of precursor 409 that is replaced or manually filled, and as such, bulk supply 427, precursor supply inlets 429 and 431, valve 433, flow controller 435, etc., may be omitted.

[0075] Carrier gas introduced into reservoir 405 may receive vaporized reactant from precursor 409 so that the vaporized reactant can become entrained therein. In some cases, the flow rate and pressure of the carrier gas from carrier gas source 413 may be controlled by, for example, flow controller 423 and one or more of valves, e.g., valve 419 so that a pressure conducive to vaporization of precursor 409 exists in reservoir 405. For instance, the flow rate and pressure of the carrier gas flowing into reservoir 405 by way of carrier gas inlet 417 may be controlled so that the partial pressure of the vaporized precursor is kept at or above the vapor pressure of precursor 409 at least with respect to the local temperature conditions of reservoir 405. The carrier gas / vapor mixture may exit reservoir 405 via reservoir vapor outlet 437, whichmay be f luidica lly connected to gas distributor 311 of process chamber 101. It is noted that the vapor-phase precursor output from reservoir vapor outlet 437 may be output from apparatus 401 via vapor outlet 439 based on the operation of, for example, one or more valves, such as valves 441 and 443, pumps, etc. In some cases, the operation of valves 441 and 443 may be controlled, at least in part, by flow controller 445 (e.g., a mass flow controller) and / or any other suitable control device or mechanism of or associated with apparatus 401 (such as controller 425). Similar to flow controller 427, at least one of flow controller 445 and controller 425 may be configured to receive feedback information (such as at least one of temperature, pressure, mass flow, volumetric flow, etc.) from one or more sensors, e.g., sensor 447, positioned in and / or along various points of the various passageways / conduits fluidically connecting reservoir 405 and gas distributor 311, reservoir 405, process chamber 101, etc. In this manner, at least one of flow controller 445 and controller 425 may be configured to receive feedback information from, for example, sensor 447 to dynamically control the operation system 400.

[0076] In some implementations, the flow of vapor-phase precursor from vapor outlet 439 via delivery conduit 449 may be joined with one or more other flows of vapor-phase precursor from vapor delivery system 401 via respective ones of delivery conduits 451, junction 453, and corresponding valves 455. In this manner, one or more vapor outputs from system 401 may be joined and delivered to gas distributor 311 via delivery conduits 454, 456, 458, and 460 and at least partially regulated via operation of at least valve 457; this series of valves and delivery conduits may be considered a flow path from the vapor delivery apparatus 401 to the gas distributor 311. For purposes of this disclosure, flow of fluids from one point to another point along a series of conduits and valves may be considered a "flow path." As described herein, apparatus 100 includes a plurality of flow paths. It is also contemplated that junction 453 or any other suitable inlet may be configured to allow carrier (or dilution) gas to be introduced into delivery conduit 454 other than by way of reservoir 405. Whether the source of this gas is by way of apparatus 401 and / or by way of junction 453, it may be controlled by one or more flow controllers (such as at least one of flow controllers 423, 445, and 501 and / or controller 425) and one or more valves (e.g., valves 419, 443, 461, 463, 465, etc.).

[0077] In various aspects, carrier gas introduced into delivery conduit 454 by way of junction 453 may be utilized to dilute the carrier gas / vapor flow from vapor outlet 439 or to purge one or more sections or portions of at least one of delivery conduits 454, 456, 458, 460, and 462,and in some instances, process chamber 101. For instance, apparatus 401 of FIG. 6 may include passageway 601 (encompassed within the dash-dot-dash shape) having a first end f luidica lly connected to passageway 449 via junction 603, a second end fluidically connected to carrier gas inlet 417, and a third end configured to fluidically connect with carrier gas source 413. In one operational configuration of valves 419, 421, and 461 (e.g., valves 419 and 421 being in respective open or partially open configurations and valve 461 being in a closed configuration), carrier gas may be caused to flow into reservoir 405 by way of carrier gas inlet 417 in association with, for instance, a deposition, etching, etc., stage of a semiconductor processing operation. In another operational configuration of valves 419, 421, and 461 (e.g., valves 419 and 461 being in respective open or partially open configurations and valve 421 being in a closed configuration), carrier gas may be caused to flow into delivery conduit 449 by way of junction 603, such as in association with a purge stage of a semiconductor processing operation. In this configuration, the carrier gas may therefore not enter into the reservoir 405. Implementations, however, are not limited thereto. For instance, one or more gases, such as dilution gas(es), purge gas(es), process gas(es), and / or the like, from one or more gas sources of another aspect, such as manifold B 507 (shown in FIG. 1) may be introduced into delivery conduit 454 via junction point 453. In some implementations, junction point 453 may be an aggregation or assembly of one or more conduits, valves, fittings, etc. For instance, junction point 453 may include a block (e.g., monoblock) flow structure having a plurality of internal and / or external conduits and internal and / or external valves (e.g., multi-way and diverter valves) associated or fluidically connected therewith.

[0078] In some implementations, operation of valves 419, 421, 461, and 602 may be controlled to enable one or more delivery conduits between gas source(s) 413 and reservoir 405 to be purged. For example, valves 419 and 602 may be configured in open states and valves 421 and 461 may be configured in closed states to allow, for example, carrier gas (or any suitable purge gas) to flow through the delivery conduits and to vacuum 604 by way of purge outlet 606. This is illustrated in FIG. 20 which schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 6 according to some aspects.

[0079] According to some aspects, delivery conduit 454 may be fluidically connected with gas distributor 311 via delivery conduits 456, 458, and 460 and operation of valve 457. One or more other gas sources may be fluidically connected with delivery conduit 458 by way ofmanifold C 480, delivery conduits 481 and 482, and selective operation of valve 483. The operation of valve 483 may be controlled, at least in part, by flow controller 422 (e.g., a mass flow controller) and / or any other suitable control device or mechanism of or associated with system 400, such as controller 425.

[0080] Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, fluidic disconnect 131 is used, at least in part, to fluidically connect aspects of the fluid delivery system located within the first portion 105 with aspects of the fluid delivery system located within the second portion 107. As further illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 5, fluidic disconnect 125 is positioned within the second portion 107 and fluidically connected to first delivery portion 400A of fluid delivery system 400, and fluidic disconnect 129 is positioned within the first portion 105 and fluidically connected to second delivery portion 400B of fluid delivery system 400. In FIG. 4, the first delivery portion 400A is depicted along with fluidic disconnect 125 in the second portion 107. The depicted fluidic disconnect 125 has four ports 125A-125D that are each connected to aspects of first delivery portion 400A of the fluid delivery system 400 and that are each configured to fluidically connect with aspects of the second delivery portion 400B. Port 125A is fluidically connected to delivery conduit 424 of first delivery portion 400A and configured to interface with port 129A of fluidic disconnect 129 in the first portion 105 and thereby configured to fluidically connect port 125A with manifold A 531, which is shown in FIG. 5 which schematically illustrates another portion of the gas and vapor delivery system of the semiconductor processing system of FIG. 1 according to some aspects. Port 125B is fluidically connected to delivery conduit 497 of first delivery portion 400A and configured to interface with port 129B of fluidic disconnect 129 in the first portion 105 and thereby configured to fluidically connect port 125B with vacuum manifold 520 (shown in FIG. 5). Port 125C is fluidically connected to delivery conduit 467 of first delivery portion 400A and configured to interface with port 129C of fluidic disconnect 129 in the first portion 105 and thereby configured to fluidically connect port 125C with manifold B 507 (shown in FIG. 5). Port 125D is fluidically connected to delivery conduit 462 of first delivery portion 400A and configured to interface with port 129D of fluidic disconnect 129 in the first portion 105 and thereby configured to fluidically connect port 125D with vacuum manifold 509 (shown in FIG. 5).

[0081] FIG. 5 depicts second delivery portion 400B of the fluid delivery system 400 along with fluidic disconnect 129 in the first portion 105. Fluidic disconnect 129 has four ports 129A-129Dwhich each are configured to fluidically connect with aspects of the fluid delivery system. Port 129A is fluidically connected to manifold A 531 and configured to fluidically connect with port 125A of the fluidic disconnect 125, port 129B is fluidically connected to the vacuum manifold 520 and configured to fluidically connect with port 125B of the fluidic disconnect 125, port 129C is fluidically connected to manifold B 507 and configured to fluidically connect with port 125C of the fluidic disconnect 125, and port 129D is fluidically connected to the vacuum manifold 509 and configured to fluidically connect with port 125D of the fluidic disconnect 125.

[0082] As further illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, manifold B 507 is fluidically connected with delivery conduit 454 by way of valves 463, 465, and 505, ports 125C and 129C of fluidic disconnects 125 and 129, and delivery conduits 467 and 469, as well as delivery conduits 502 and 504. In some cases, the operation of one or more of valves 463, 465, and 505 may be controlled, at least in part, by flow controller 501 (e.g., a mass flow controller) and / or any other suitable control device or mechanism of or associated with system 400, such as controller 425. Valve 465 may be part of junction point 471 including node 473. In some cases, node 473 may not only be fluidically interposed between delivery conduits 467 and 469, but also enable selective flow of one or more cleaning gases to be introduced to delivery conduit 454 from remote plasma clean system 475 (RPS 475 in FIG. 4) by way of valve 477. Delivery conduit 454 may be selectively diverted to vacuum 509 via controlled operation of at least valve 479 and delivery conduit 462. In this manner, vacuum 509 may be fluidically connected with delivery conduit 462 by way of ports 125D and 129D of fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 and delivery conduits 513 and 515.

[0083] In some implementations, valves 457 and 479 may be formed as part of junction point 490, which may be part of adapter 491 having conduit fitting 403 fluidically connected with gas distributor 311. As previously mentioned, conduit fitting 403 may be a tee fitting. The tee fitting may have a first inlet connected to delivery conduit 458, a second inlet connected with delivery conduit 492, and an outlet fluidically connected with gas distributor 311 by way of delivery conduit 460. In some cases, one or more gases may be flowed to gas distributor 311 via manifold D 493 and delivery conduit 492 via selective operation of valve 494. It is also noted that delivery conduit 492 may be selectively diverted to vacuum 520 via controlled operation of valves 494, 495, 496, and 521, delivery conduits 497, 523, and 524, and ports 125B and 129B of fluidic disconnects 125 and 129. The operation of one or more of valves 494, 495,496, and 521 may be controlled, at least in part, by flow controller 402 (e.g., a mass flow controller) and / or any other suitable control device or mechanism of or associated with system 400, such as controller 425. In some cases, remote plasma from remote plasma source system 498 (RPS 498 in FIG. 4) may be selectively flowed to gas distributor 311 by way of delivery conduits 492 and 499 via selective operation of valve 420.

[0084] Selective operation of valve 495 and 530 may be utilized in association with delivery conduits 424 and 492 to flow one or more gases from manifold A 531 to gas distributor 311 by way of ports 125A and 129A of fluidic disconnects 125 and 129. As seen in FIG. 5, delivery conduits 532 and 533 may fluidically connect manifold A 531 with port 129A of fluidic disconnect 129. In some aspects, delivery conduits 523 and 532 may be fluidically connected with one another via selective operation of valve 540. In a similar fashion, delivery conduits 502 and 515 may be fluidically connected with one another via selective operation of valve 550. Operation of one or more of valves 521, 530, and 540 may be controlled, at least in part, by flow controller 545 (e.g., a mass flow controller) and / or any other suitable control device or mechanism of or associated with system 400, such as controller 425. Likewise, operation of one or more of valves 505, 511, and 550 may be controlled, at least in part, by flow controller 501 (e.g., a mass flow controller) and / or any other suitable control device or mechanism of or associated with system 400, such as controller 425.

[0085] Referring back to FIG. 3, in various implementations, process and / or purge gases may exit process chamber 101 via exhaust gas port (or outlet) 321 fluidically coupled to, for instance, vacuum pump 323, which may be a one or two stage mechanical dry pump and / or a turbomolecular pump. In this manner, process and / or purge gases may be drawn out of process chamber 101 to maintain a suitably low-pressure environment therein. To this end, a closed-loop flow restriction device, such as a throttle valve or a pendulum valve, may be controlled via control module 309 to further ensure a suitably low-pressure environment in process chamber 101.

[0086] According to some aspects, process chamber 101 may also include one or more liners (or shrouds) lining one or more interior surfaces of process chamber 101. The liner(s) may be formed of a metal or metal alloy, such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy, but aspects are not limited thereto. The liner(s) may be configured to be removed during servicing of process chamber 101 to prevent (or at least reduce) build-up of material, e.g., metallic material, on thewalls of process chamber 101. In some cases, process chamber 101 may be caused, at least in part, to be arranged in the second configuration, such as shown in FIG. 2, to allow access to internal cavity region 109 to remove, replace, and / or clean the liner(s). Further, the one or more liners may also be configured to reduce heat transfer to and from the walls of process chamber 101 to help stabilize an internal temperature of process chamber 101. Moreover, the liner(s) may serve as sacrificial layers configured to prevent (or reduce) damage to process chamber 101.

[0087] In various implementations, system 300 may include or communicate with thermal system 325, which may be configured to actively control the temperature of one or more of pedestal 301, gas distributor 311, and disconnect 131. In some cases, thermal system 325 may also be configured to actively control the temperature of one or more of gas supply manifold 317, fluid sources 315 and 316, etc. For instance, thermal system 325 may be configured to control one or more aspects associated with one or more thermal control elements, e.g., heating element(s), cooling conduit(s), and / or the like, of pedestal 301, gas distributor 311, fluidic disconnect 131, gas supply manifold 317, fluid sources 315 and 316, etc. In some implementations, control module 309 may control the operation of thermal system 325, but aspects are not limited thereto.

[0088] Additional aspects of process chamber 101 and disconnect 131 will now be discussed in more detail in association with FIGS. 1-12.

[0089] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a partially exploded perspective view of a portion of a process chamber including a fluidic disconnect according to some aspects. FIG. 8 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the fluidic disconnect of FIG. 7 according to some aspects. FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a partial perspective view of a first portion of the process chamber of FIG. 7 according to some aspects. FIG. 10 schematically illustrates an orthographic view of the first portion of the process chamber of FIGS. 7 and 9 according to some aspects. FIG. 11 schematically illustrates a partial perspective view of a second portion of the process chamber of FIG. 7 according to some aspects. FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a partial orthographic view of the second portion of the process chamber of FIGS. 7 and 11 according to some aspects.

[0090] Referring to FIGS. 1-12, process chamber 101 may include first portion 105 and second portion 107 moveably mated with first portion 105 in a first configuration (such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7), and capable of being spaced apart from one another in a secondconfiguration (such as depicted in FIG. 2). For the purposes of this disclosure, "moveably mated" may include a tangent or coincident mating (or abutment) between two or more components with mutually complementing shapes enabling a physical interface between the two or more components that may be mated / unmated when, for example, at least one of the two or more components is displaced relative to the other component(s). For example, some process chambers may include a moveable top portion that can be lifted away from a lower chamber portion to allow access to interior spaces. Given this ability to separate first and second portions 105 and 107 from one another, process chamber 101 may include one or more fluidic disconnects, such as fluidic disconnect 131 having two parts, fluidic disconnect 125 in the second portion 107 and fluidic disconnect 129 in the first portion 105, that allow flow paths of system 400 spanning at least split plane 104 of process chamber 101 to f luidica lly connect and disconnect from one another.

[0091] While in the second configuration, the second portion 107 may be vertically offset from the first portion 105 by at least two inches, six inches, one foot, two feet, or three feet, for example. The second portion 107 may also be considered, in some embodiments, to be the top of a processing chamber including a multi-station processing chamber, an example is shown in FIG. 23. In the second configuration, processing operations on a substrate are not performed, such as process gases are not flowed to the substrate. While in the second configuration, the fluidic disconnect 125 is fluidically disconnected from the fluidic disconnect 129 thereby causing the first delivery portion 400A to be fluidically disconnected from the second delivery portion 400B. Although the atmospheric environment may provide a fluidic connection between the first and second delivery portions 400A and 400B, for purposes of this disclosure, the first and second delivery portions 400A and 400B are considered to be fluidically disconnected and fluidically isolated from each other while in the second configuration despite any possible fluidic connection from the atmospheric environment.

[0092] In FIG. 7, according to some aspects, fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 may be routed through one or more spaces of or associated with process chamber 101, such as in region 701 in second portion 107 and at least one of regions 703 and 705 in first portion 105. Further in FIGS. 7, 9, and 10, region 701 may be a through-hole extending in an axial direction, e.g., a direction parallel or substantially parallel to the Z-axis, from first (e.g., upper) surface 901 of second portion 107 through second (e.g., lower) surface 903 of second portion 107. At leastone peripheral surface, such as peripheral (e.g., front) surface 905 may extend between first and second surfaces 901 and 903. Region 701 may have dimensions 907, 909, and 1001 in the axial direction (e.g., in the x-axis), a first direction (e.g., in the y-axis), and a second direction (e.g., in the z-direction), respectively. The first and second directions may not only be transverse to the axial direction, but may also be transverse to one another.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 9, second portion 107 of process chamber 101 may also include an opening 911 extending in the first direction and fl uidica lly connected to region 701. Opening 911 may expose a portion of fluidic disconnect 125 to enable the fluidic disconnect 125 to be structurally connected to second portion 107 via, for instance, fasteners 801 (shown in FIG. 8). In some cases, as illustrated in FIG. 7, second portion 107 may be formed having internal cavity region 913 that, together with internal cavity region 109, may define a space (or enclosure) including process volume 313 in the first configuration between first and second portions 105 and 107.

[0094] Turning to FIGS. 7, 11, and 12, first portion 105 of process chamber 101 may include first and second regions 703 and 705 through which portions of fluidic disconnect 129 may be routed. In some cases, first and second regions 703 and 705 may be respective recesses formed in first surface 1101 of first portion 105. First surface 1101 of first portion 105 may extend between second surface 1103 and third surface 1105 that may oppose one another in the axial direction (along the z-axis). In some cases, second surface 1103 of first portion 105 may form a contact interface with second surface 903 of second portion 107 in the first configuration of process chamber 101 as illustrated in FIG. 7. At least one fluidic seal may be provided between second surfaces 1103 and 903 of first and second portions 105 and 107, respectively, via at least one gasket arranged therebetween. For instance, as shown in FIG. 11, second surface 1103 of first portion 105 may include first and second grooves 1107 and 1109 configured to support first and second gaskets therein. In some cases, first and second grooves 1107 and 1109 may be formed circumferentially about internal cavity regions 109 and 913 of process chamber 101. It is also noted that first groove 1107 may be encircled by second groove 1109, and internal cavity region 109 may include first (e.g., lower) cavity region 1111 and second (e.g., upper) cavity region 1113. As such, when process chamber 101 is arranged in the first configuration, the first and second gaskets may be at least partially compressed at least partially within first and second grooves 1107 and 1109 and between first and second portions105 and 107 to form, for instance, fluidic seals about internal cavity regions 109 and 913.

[0095] As seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, first and second regions 703 and 705 may extend in the axial direction. Proximal ends of first and second regions 703 and 705 may be fluidically connected to third region 1201, which may be recessed further into first portion 105 of process chamber 101 than first and second regions 703 and 705. As such, recessed surface 1115 of third region 1201 may be disposed further from first surface 1101 of first portion 105 than recessed surfaces 1117 and 1119 of first and second regions 703 and 705. In this manner, resting surface 1121 may be formed at a transition between third region 1201 and first and second regions 703 and 705. Distal ends of first and second regions 703 and 705 may be fluidically connected to fourth region 1203, which may be recessed further into first portion 105 than third region 1201, but aspects are not limited thereto. In some configurations, septal wall 1123 may be formed between first and second regions 703 and 705, and as such, each of first and second regions 703 and 705 may be bounded by at least three interior surfaces. For instance, first region 703 may be bounded by first and second interior surfaces 1125 and 1127, as well as recessed surface 1117. In this manner, each of first and second regions 703 and 705 may have first dimension 1205 extending in the axial direction, second dimension 1129 extending in the first direction, and third dimension 1207 extending in the second direction.

[0096] In some implementations, first through fourth regions 703, 705, 1201, and 1203 may be covered (or otherwise concealed) by cover plate 709, which may be coupled (e.g., detachably coupled) to first portion 105 via a plurality of fasteners, such as fasteners 711. Cover plate 709 may include a plurality of through-holes 713 through which fasteners 711 may extend and engage (e.g., threadedly engage) with respective openings 1209 in first portion 105 of process chamber 101. According to some aspects, fluidic disconnect 129 may be structurally connected to septal wall 1123 of first portion 105 via, for instance, fasteners 803.

[0097] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, fluidic disconnect 131 may include fluidic disconnects 125 and 129, which may be coupled to second and first portions 107 and 105, respectively, of process chamber 101 via fasteners 801 and 803. Fluidic disconnect 125 may include disconnect 805 and portions of delivery conduits 424, 462, 467, and 497 extending therefrom; these delivery conduits are also schematically illustrated in FIGS. 4, 6, 13, and 18, for instance. Fluidic disconnect 129 may include disconnect 807 and portions of delivery conduits 502, 515, 523, and 532 extending therefrom. Disconnect 807 may include ports 129A, 129B, 129C, and 129Dfluidically connected with respective delivery conduits 532, 523, 502, and 515. Similarly, disconnect 805 may include ports 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D fluidically connected with respective delivery conduits 424, 497, 467, and 462. When fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 are mated together (see, e.g., FIG. 7), one or more seals (e.g., seals 809) may be at least partially compressed therebetween and respectively encircle ports 125A-125D of disconnect 805, and thereby, ports 129A-129D of disconnect 807. Seals 809 may prevent or at least reduce the likelihood of leaks between fluidic disconnects 125 and 129.

[0098] According to some aspects, when process chamber 101 is arranged in the first configuration (such as the configuration shown in FIG. 1), first surface 805a of fluidic disconnect 125 may contact and mate with first surface 807a of fluidic disconnect 129 in a manner that each delivery conduit of one fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to a corresponding delivery conduit of the other fluidic disconnect. For example, as seen in FIG. 8, when process chamber 101 is arranged in the first configuration and the first and second fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 are in contact with each other, delivery conduits 532 and 424 become fluidically connected with one another, delivery conduits 523 and 497 become fluidically connected with one another, delivery conduits 502 and 467 become fluidically connected with one another, and delivery conduits 515 and 462 become fluidically connected with one another. In some cases, distal ends of delivery conduits 424, 497, 467, 462, 532, 523, 502, and 515 may respectively include corresponding quick disconnects 811 and 813 to allow fluidic disconnect 131 to be installed and / or replaced in system 100 relatively easily.

[0099] According to some aspects, when process chamber 101 is to be opened, such as to perform at least one maintenance procedure, one or more delivery conduits that may be otherwise exposed to the atmosphere of an ambient environment may be configured to flow purge gas to prevent the introduction of the atmosphere therein. This may include, for instances, causing purge gas flow to flow through and out of gas distributor 311 and aspects of fluidic disconnect 131, such as out of the ports of fluidic disconnects 125 and 129. For example, as seen in FIGS. 13 and 19, purge gas may be caused to flow out of gas distributor 311 by having valves 483 and 494 configured into open or partially opened states to allow purge gas from gas sources 480 and 493 to flow along delivery conduits 481, 482, 458, 460, and 492 and out of gas distributor 311. Valves 494, 495, and 496 may also be configured in open or partially opened states to allow purge gas from gas source 493 to flow along delivery conduits 492, 497, and 424and out of ports 125A and 125B of fluidic disconnect 125. Depending on the type of gas chemistry that typically flows through delivery conduits 492, 497, and 424, valves 495 and 496 may not be opened and purge gas may not flow out of ports 125A and 125B of fluidic disconnect 125, in some implementations. FIG. 19 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 6 according to some aspects. As illustrated here, valves 419, 461, 443, 455, 463, 465, and 479, however, may be configured into open or partially opened states to allow purge gas to flow from gas sources 413 along delivery conduits 449, 454, 462, 469, and 467 and out of ports 125C and 125D of fluidic disconnect 125.

[0100] FIG. 16 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 5 according to some aspects. As seen here, purge gas from manifolds A and B 531 and 507 may be allowed to flow out of ports 129A and 129B of fluidic disconnect 129 by way of valves 530 and 540 being in open or partially opened states, and out of ports 129C and 129D of fluidic disconnect 129 by way of valves 505 and 550 being in open or partially opened states. Another illustration is FIG. 14 which illustrates concurrent purge gas flows out of a first fluidic disconnect, a second fluidic disconnect, and a gas distributor of the apparatus of FIG. 2 while in the second configuration according to some aspects. Here, the various flows of this purge gas through the gas distributor 311, fluidic disconnect 125, and fluidic disconnect 129, may prevent or at least reduce the likelihood of the flow of atmosphere into these delivery conduits, and thereby, reduce the likelihood of unwanted interaction with one or more components of the atmosphere. Concurrent gas flow may be considered two or more gas flows that are occur at the same time. In some instances, the gas flows may start at the same, may start at different times, may end at the same time, or may end at different times, and regardless of when they start or end, the gas flows may flow at the same time for at least some duration of time. In some instances, a flow rate of the purge gas along one or more of the delivery conduits may be about 4.5 standard liters per minute (slm) to about 10 slm, such as about 6 slm to about 8 slm, e.g., about 7.5 slm or about 5 slm. Such flow rates may be high enough to prevent intrusion of the atmosphere into the delivery conduits, but low enough to prevent the flow of purge gas from displacing too much oxygen around process chamber 101, and thereby, avoiding the potential for asphyxiation.

[0101] In some implementations, fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 may be capped off via respective caps 1501 and 1503 after process chamber 101 is opened, as seen in FIG. 15. FIG. 15illustrates another configuration of the apparatus of FIG. 2 while in the second configuration according to some aspects. This may also help reduce the likelihood of displacing too much oxygen around process chamber 101. That being said, the purge gas may, in some cases, be allowed to continue to flow into the various delivery conduits while fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 are capped off and process chamber 101 is maintained in an open state. In some cases, however, the flow of the purge gas may be terminated. In either implementation, a pressurized environment may be maintained in the delivery conduits that may help prevent or at least reduce the likelihood of the flow of atmosphere therein. In some cases, the delivery conduits may be pressurized to the facility supply pressure of the purge gas.

[0102] According to some aspects, the flow of purge gas along delivery conduits 481, 482, 458, 460, 492, 497, 424, 449, 454, 469, 467, 462, 533, 532, and 523 may be allowed to continue until a predetermined amount of time after process chamber 101 is reverted to a closed condition. In some instances, once the process chamber 101 is in a closed position, some of the delivery conduits may be pumped down, or pumped to vacuum, by closing some valves and opening other valves to fluidically connect various aspects of the delivery system to the vacuum manifold or manifolds. For example, valves 483, 494, 530, and 505 may be toggled from open or partially open states to closed states, and valves 521 and 511 may be toggled from closed states to open or partially open states to cause the vacuum to be fluidically connected to the delivery system, such as illustrated in FIGS. 17, 21, and 22. FIG 17 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 5 according to some aspects, FIG. 21 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 5 according to some aspects, and FIG. 22 schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 5 according to some aspects. In some cases, the purge gas from gas sources 413, 480, 493, 531, and 507 may be allowed to continue to flow for a predetermined amount of time to allow the delivery conduits and process chamber 101 to be purged of potential contaminants. At some point thereafter, the flow of purge gas from gas sources 413, 480, 493, 531, and 507 may be terminated and the various delivery conduits (and, in some cases, process chamber 101) may be pumped down by way of connections to vacuum 520, 509, and 604 and the use of one or more pumps, such as pump 323. Once the delivery conduits (and, in some cases, process chamber 101) are sufficiently evacuated, valves 511 and 521 may be returned to closed states. At this point, process chamber 101 may be configured in accordance with at least one semiconductor processing condition.

[0103] According to some aspects, reservoir 405 may be replaced in order to replenish an amount of precursor 409 stored therein, and as such, one or more delivery conduits that may be otherwise exposed to the atmosphere of an ambient environment when reservoir 405 is removed from system 401 may be isolated from a remainder of system 400 to prevent the introduction of the atmosphere beyond the isolation valves. This isolation may occur by closing some valves and opening others in the delivery and vapor delivery systems to allow purge gas flow through aspects of the vapor deliver apparatus 401. For example, as seen in FIGS. 18, 19, and 21, valves 419, 461, 443, 455 (associated with delivery conduit 449), 479, and 505 may be configured into open or partially open states, and valves 602, 421, 441, 455 (associated with delivery conduits 451), 457, and 550 may be configured into closed states to enable purge gas from gas sources 413 and 507 to flow along delivery conduits 504, 502, 467, 469, 449, 454, and 462. Not only may the closing of valves 421 and 441 isolate downstream delivery conduits from the atmosphere, but the additional flow of purge gas along delivery conduits 449, 454, 462, 469, and 467 may also help prevent the introduction of the atmosphere therein. It is noted that the purge gas may be caused, at least in part, to flow from gas sources 413 and 507 a predetermined amount of time before removing reservoir 405 from system 401, and in some cases, a predetermined amount of time after reconnecting reservoir 405 to system 401.

[0104] Once reservoir 405 is reconnected in system 401, valves 461 and 505 may be toggled from open or partially open states into closed states, and valve 602 may be toggled from a closed state into an open or partially open state. To this end, the flow of purge gas from gas sources 413 and 507 may be terminated. At some point thereafter, the various delivery conduits downstream of valve 461 may be pumped down and their contents expelled to vacuum 509, and the various delivery conduits upstream of valve 461 may be pumped down and their contents expelled to vacuum 604, such as can be appreciated from FIGS. 18, 20, and 22. Once the various delivery conduits are sufficiently evacuated, valves 511 and 602 may be returned to closed states, and system 401 may be configured in accordance with at least one semiconductor processing condition.

[0105] Various fluids and gases may be flowed while the tool is in the first configuration and second configuration. As provided herein, the tool 100 includes a controller with instructions to cause the tool to perform actions, including flowing gases and fluids within, through, and out the tool. The semiconductor processing system 100 is therefore configured to flow processgases and purge gases through various flow paths within the first portion 105, second portion 107, first delivery portion 400A, second delivery portion 400B, and between such parts and portions as provided herein. A flow path may be considered, in some implementations, as a pathway for fluid to travel between two points through one or more delivery conduits and / or valves. For example, referring to FIG. 4, a flow path spans between manifold D 493 and gas distributor 311 and is made of at least valve 494, delivery conduit 492, conduit fitting 403, and delivery conduit 460 such that fluid can flow from manifold D 493 to gas distributor 311 along these elements in this flow path. Another example flow path may span between port 125A of the second fluidic disconnect 125 and the gas distributor 311 and include delivery conduit 424, valve 495, delivery conduit 492, conduit fitting 403, and delivery conduit 460; fluid may flow from port 125A to gas distributor 311 along these elements.

[0106] In some implementations, the semiconductor processing system 100 is configured to flow process gases and / or fluids, while in the first configuration of FIG. 1, from the first portion 105 to the second portion 107 through the fluidic disconnect 131 and its two parts fluidic disconnect 129 and second fluidic disconnect 125. In some implementations while in the first configuration, the first portion 105 is fluidically connected to the second portion 107 through only the fluidic disconnect such that the fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 provide fluidic connections between the first and second portions 107 and 105. For example, port 125A of fluidic disconnect 125 in the first delivery portion 400A may be fluidically connected to port 129A of fluidic disconnect 129 in the second delivery portion 400B thereby providing a fluidic connection between the first and second portions 105 and 107.

[0107] In some implementations, the instructions may be configured to cause the fluid delivery system 400 to flow one or more first process gases along a first flow path through the second fluidic disconnect 129 and through the first delivery portion 400A to gas distributor 311 while in the first configuration. This flow and flow path is partially shown in FIG. 13A which schematically illustrates an operational state of a portion of the system of FIG. 4 according to some aspects. The first flow path may span along delivery conduits, port, and valves in both the first and second delivery portions 400A and 400B. For instance, referring to FIGS. 4, 5, 13A, and 16, the first flow path may span from a point in the second delivery portion 400B, such as manifold A 531 of FIG. 16, and span along delivery conduit 533, valve 530, delivery conduit 532, to and out port 129A of fluidic disconnect 129, and continue in and through port 125A of fluiddisconnect 125 of FIG. 13A, along delivery conduit 424, through valve 495, along delivery conduit 492, through conduit 403, through delivery conduit 460, and through and out the gas distributor 311 in the first delivery portion 400A. While in the first configuration and with this first flow path, the process gases may flow from manifold A and the first delivery portion 400A along the first flow path to the gas distributor 311. The first port 125A of fluidic disconnect 125 (also referred to herein as the first fluidic disconnect) is fluidically connected to a second port 129A of fluidic disconnect 129 (also referred to herein as the second fluidic disconnect) to provide one fluidic connection between the first and second delivery portions 400A and 400B and the first and second portions 105 and 107.

[0108] As mentioned herein, it is desirable to flow purge gas concurrently out of one or more ports or openings of the first and second delivery portions 400A and 400B while the apparatus 100 is in the second configuration to prevent unwanted ingress of moisture and other contaminants into fluid delivery system 400. As mentioned herein, concurrent gas flow may be considered the flowing of two or more gas flows at the same time for at least a duration of time. For example, in some implementations as illustrated in FIGS. 13B and 14, the semiconductor processing system 100 is configured to flow purge gas concurrently out of the ports of the fluidic disconnects 125 and 129, and in some instances the gas distributor 311, to prevent moisture ingress through these elements and into the fluid delivery system 400; in some instances, this may be considered flowing purge gas out of the ports of the fluidic disconnects 125 and 129, and in some instances the gas distributor 311, at the same time. In FIG. 13B which schematically illustrates an operational state of the system of FIG. 4 according to some aspects, the instructions are configured to cause the fluid delivery system 400 to flow one or more purge gases along each flow path connected to each port of fluidic disconnect 125, such as one flow path having delivery conduit 424 for port 125A, another flow path having delivery conduit 497 for port 125B, yet another flow path having delivery conduit 467 for port 125C, and another flow path having delivery conduit 462 for port 125D; a flow path for gas distributor 311 also includes delivery conduit 492.

[0109] In some implementations, to prevent unwanted moisture and contaminant ingress into the fluid delivery system 400, the tool 100 is configured to cause the fluid delivery system to flow purge gas along a first section of the first flow path in the first portion 105 and first delivery portion 400A and through the first port 125A, such as illustrated in FIGS. 13B and 13C.The first section of the first flow path may have at least one delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the first port 125A. For example, the first section of the first flow path may have valve 495, delivery conduit 424, and port 125A such that the purge gas flows through the delivery conduit 424 and out of port 125A. As also illustrated in FIG. 16, the tool 100 is configured to cause the fluid delivery system to flow purge gas, concurrently with flowing purge gas along the first section of the first flow path, along a second section of the first flow path in the second portion 105 and second delivery portion 400B and through the port 129A. The second section of the first flow path may have at least one delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the port 129A. For example, the second section of the first flow path may have delivery conduit 533, valve 530, delivery conduit 532, and port 129A such that the purge gas flows out of port 129A. In some instances, the same purge gas may be flowed concurrently, or at the same time, out of both ports 125A and 129A, while in other instances, different purge gases may be flowed concurrently, or at the same time, out of the ports. FIG. 14 illustrates the concurrent purge gas flows out of the first and second fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 while in the second configuration.

[0110] The tool 100 is also configured to cause the fluid delivery system to flow purge gas out of the gas distributor to prevent similar unwanted moisture and contaminant ingress into the gas distributor and first delivery portion 400A as illustrated in FIGS. 13B, 13C, and 13E. To deliver one or more process gases to a substrate for processing operations, the tool 100 is configured to flow such process gases to the gas distributor 311 along a second flow path. In FIGS. 4 and 13-E, the second flow path may include valve 494, delivery conduit 492, conduit fitting 403, delivery line 460, and gas distributor 311. In the second configuration, the tool 100 is configured to cause the fluid delivery system to flow purge gas, concurrently with flowing purge gas along the first section of the first flow path, along the second flow path to and through the gas distributor 311 as shown in FIGS. 13B, 13C, and 13E.

[0111] In some instances, the second and first flow paths may overlap with each other, such as delivery conduit 492, fitting conduit 403, and delivery conduit 460 in FIG. 4, for example. To enable use of such overlapping flow paths, the first delivery portion 400A includes isolation valves to separate the non-overlapping sections of flow paths during processing operations. For example, to flow process gases along the second flow path to the gas distributor 311, valve 494 may be open and valve 495 may be closed to fluidically isolate the remaining section or portionof the first flow path, e.g., delivery conduit 424, from the overlapping section including delivery line 492 and gas distributor 311. Similarly, when flowing process gases along the first flow path to the gas distributor, valve 494 may be closed to f luidica lly isolate manifold D from delivery line 492 while valve 495 is open. These overlapping flow paths may enable concurrent purge gas flow along and through the overlapping and separate section of the first and second flow paths, as illustrated in FIG. 13C which schematically illustrates another operational state of the portion of the system of FIG. 13A according to some aspects. Here, purge gas is flowed along the second flow path to the gas distributor 311, which includes the overlapping section of delivery conduit 492, conduit fitting 403, delivery conduit 460, and gas distributor 311, as well as a section of the first flow path from valve 495, delivery conduit 424, and out and through port 125A of the first fluidic disconnect 125.

[0112] In additional or alternative implementations, the first fluidic disconnect 125 may have another port, such as port 125C (which may also be considered a third port), and the second fluidic disconnect 129 may have another port, such as port 129C (which may also be considered a fourth port) which are fluidically connected to each other in the first configuration. In this configuration, ports 129C and 125D provide a second fluidic connection between the first and second delivery portions 400A and 400B. To preform processing operations in the first configuration, the instructions of the tool 100 may be configured to cause the fluid delivery system 400 to flow one or more process gases along a third flow path through the second fluidic disconnect 129 and through the first delivery portion 400A to gas distributor 311. A part of this third flow path is shown in in FIG. 13D which schematically illustrates an operational state of another portion of the system of FIG. 4 according to some aspects. This third flow path may span from a point in the second delivery portion 400B, such as manifold B 507, and extend through flow controller 501, valve 505, delivery conduits 504 and 502, and through and out fourth port 129C, into the first delivery portion 400A through the third port 125C, through delivery conduit 467, valve 465, delivery conduit 469, valve 463, delivery conduit 454, delivery conduit 456, valve 457, delivery conduit 458, conduit fitting 403, delivery conduit 460, and have another point at gas distributor 311.

[0113] To flow purge gas out of the third and fourth ports 125C and 129C while in the second configuration, the instructions of the tool may be configured to cause the fluid delivery system 400 to flow a purge gas through a section of the third flow path, such as valve 463, deliveryconduit 469, valve 465, delivery conduit 467, and out port 125C of first fluidic disconnect 125, as illustrated in FIGS. 13B and 13E, with FIG. 13E schematically illustrating another operational state of the portion of the system of FIG. 13D according to some aspects. The instructions may be further configured to cause the fluid delivery system 400 to flow a purge gas through a second section of the third flow path, such as through flow controller 501, valve 505, delivery conduits 504 and 502, and through and out fourth port 129C, as illustrated in FIG. 16. As shown in the Figures, these purge gas flows may be concurrent with the other purge gas flows such that the purge gas flow out of the first port 125A, the second port 129A, the third port 125C, and the fourth port 129C concurrently while in the second position. In some instances, the same purge gas may be flowed concurrently out of both ports 125C and 129C, while in other instances, different purge gases may be flowed concurrently out of the ports. In some embodiments, each port of each fluidic disconnect may have one corresponding delivery conduit fluidically coupled thereto.

[0114] In some embodiments, the fluid delivery system 400 includes a vacuum pump that is fluidically connected to the first and second delivery portions 400A and 400B, and that is configured to pump to base sections of the system 400. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, a vacuum manifold 520 fluidically connected to the vacuum pump, is fluidically connected to the second port 129A of the second fluidic disconnect 129 and configured to pump to base delivery conduit 532 and port 129A through at least delivery conduit 524 and valve 540. The delivery system 400 is further configured to fluidically connect the vacuum manifold 520 to the first section of the first flow path in the first delivery portion 400A and thereby configured to pump to base the first section of the first flow path while in the first configuration. This includes, for example, pumping to base delivery conduit 424 through first port 125A of the first fluidic disconnect 125, through second port 129A of the second fluidic disconnect 129, through delivery conduit 532, through valve 540 and through valve 521 to the vacuum manifold 520. Valve 530 may be closed in order to allow this pumping.

[0115] As further illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18, the tool may be configured to pump to base other ports of the fluidic disconnect and any other flow paths in the first delivery portion 400A fluidically connected to the second delivery portion 400B through the fluidic disconnects 125 and 129. For example, vacuum manifold 509 can pump to base the second section of the third flow path in the first delivery portion 400A fluidically connected to third port 125C and fourthport 129C, including delivery conduit 467. Further, as shown in FIG. 18 which schematically illustrates various operational states of the systems of FIG. 4 according to some aspects, vacuum manifold 509 can pump to base other delivery conduits, such as delivery conduit 462, 454, 449, and 469, for instance.

[0116] The tool 100 is also configured to prevent moisture and contaminant ingress into the vapor delivery apparatus 401 by flowing purge gas through its ports during removal of the reservoir 405, such as during maintenance or refilling. The instructions of the tool 100 are configured to cause the delivery system 400 to flow precursor to the gas distributor, at least in part, by flowing flow a carrier gas form gas source 413 into the reservoir through valve 421 and inlet 417 of the reservoir and out the reservoir 405 through outlet 437 (as noted above, precursor flows with the carrier gas out of the reservoir 405), through valve 441, past junction 603, through outlet 439 and to the gas distributor 311 as shown in FIG. 6. This may be considered a fifth flow path. In FIG. 4, the fifth flow path may continue through valve 455, delivery conduits 454 and 456, through valve 457, delivery conduit 458, conduit fitting 403, delivery conduit 460, and gas distributor 311. When the reservoir is removed, during filling, or other maintenance operations, purge gas may be flowed along a part of the fifth flow path and without passing into and through the reservoir thereby preventing unwanted moisture and contaminant ingress into the vapor delivery apparatus 401 as illustrated in FIG. 19. This may include flowing the purge gas through inlet 415, through valve 461, junction 603, and out the outlet 439. Purge gas is not flowed through inlet 417 during this purge gas flowing. In some embodiments, other components of flow paths, such as a valve or piping, may need to be removed or replaced and during such removal, purge gas may similarly be flowed through the flow paths fl uidica lly connected to the removed component to prevent unwanted moisture or contaminant ingress into the fluid delivery system. For example, referring back to Figure 13C, if valve 495 is removed for service or replacement, then gas may be flowed through its fluidically connected flow paths, such as from manifold D 493 through valve 494, conduit 492, and conduit 424 as shown in order to prevent moisture or contaminant ingress into these components of the fluid delivery system.

[0117] In some implementations, the outlet 439 and delivery conduit 449 of the vapor delivery apparatus 401 may be fluidically connected to one or more ports of the first fluidic disconnect 125, such as port 125C and 125D, as shown in FIGD. 13B and 13E. The purge gasflowed through the vapor delivery apparatus 401 illustrated in FIG. 19 may continue flowing through the first delivery portion 400A and out the port 125C of the fluidic disconnect, including along a portion of the fifth path shown in FIG. 13, such as delivery conduit 449, valve 455, delivery conduit 454, valve 479, delivery conduit 462, and to and out port 125D.

[0118] In some implementations, this concurrent purge gas flow does not occur during processing operations, not while a substrate is in the processing chamber, or both. During processing operations, the process gases are flowed to the substrate during a first time interval. The purge gas flows out of the fluidic disconnects 125 and 129 occur during the same second time interval separate from the first time interval.Multistation Processing Tool

[0119] FIG. 23 schematically illustrates a multi-station processing tool according to some aspects.

[0120] In some implementations, multi-station processing tool 2300 can include an inbound load lock 2303 and an outbound load lock 2305, either or both of which may include a plasma source and / or an ultraviolet (UV) source. Robot 2307, at atmospheric pressure, is configured to move wafers from a cassette loaded through pod 2309 into inbound load lock 2303 via an atmospheric port 2311. Wafer 303 is placed by robot 2307 on pedestal 2313 in inbound load lock 2303, atmospheric port 2311 is closed, and inbound load lock 2303 is pumped down. In instances in which inbound load lock 2303 includes a remote plasma source, wafer 303 may be exposed to a remote plasma treatment in inbound load lock 2303 prior to being introduced into process chamber 2315. In some aspects, process chamber 101 may form a portion of process chamber 2315. Further, wafer 303 may be heated in inbound load lock 2303 to, for example, remove moisture and / or adsorbed gases. Next, chamber transport port 2317 to process chamber 2315 is opened, and another robot 2319 places wafer 303 into the reactor on a pedestal of a first station shown in the reactor for processing. While the implementation depicted in FIG. 23 includes load locks, it will be appreciated that, in some implementations, direct entry of wafer 303 into a processing station may be provided.

[0121] As seen in FIG. 23, process chamber 2315 includes four process stations, numbered1 to 4. Each station has a temperature-controlled pedestal (such as temperature-controlledpedestal 2321 of station 1), and gas line inlets. It will be appreciated that, in some cases, each process station may have different or multiple purposes. For example, in some aspects, a process station may be switchable between a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and PECVD process mode. In another example, deposition operations, e.g., PECVD operations, may be performed in one station, while exposure to UV radiation for UV curing may be performed in another station. In some cases, deposition and UV curing may be performed in the same station. Further, although process chamber 2315 shown as including four stations, aspects are not limited thereto. For example, process chamber 2315 may have any suitable number of stations, such as five or more stations, or three or less stations.

[0122] Multi-station processing tool 2300 may include a wafer handling system (e.g., robot 2319 including spider forks 2301) for transferring and / or positioning wafers within process chamber 2315. In some aspects, the wafer handling system may transfer wafers between various process stations and / or between a process station and a load lock. It is contemplated, however, that any suitable wafer handling system may be employed, such as, for example, wafer carousels, other wafer handling robots, etc. Further, multi-station processing tool 2300 may include (or otherwise be coupled to) a system controller 2323 employed to control process conditions and hardware states of multi-station processing tool 2300. System controller 2323 may include one or more memory devices 2325, one or more mass storage devices 2327, and one or more processors 2329. Each processor 2329 may include a central processing unit (CPU) or computer, analog, and / or digital input / output connections, stepper motor controller boards, etc.

[0123] In some aspects, system controller 2323 controls each of the activities of multi-station processing tool 2300. For instance, system controller 2323 may execute system control software 2331 stored in mass storage device 2327, loaded into memory device 2325, and executed by processor 2329. Alternatively, control logic may be hard coded in system controller 2323. Application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)) and / or the like may be used for these purposes. In the following discussion, wherever "software" or "code" is used, functionally comparable hard coded logic may be used in its place. System control software 2331 may include instructions for controlling the relative displacement between first and second portions 105 and 107 of a process chamber, timing, mixture of gases, gas flow rates, conductance,temperatures of components forming a vapor-phase delivery system (such as system 103), chamber and / or station pressure, chamber and / or station temperature, wafer temperature, target power levels, RF power levels, substrate pedestal, chuck and / or susceptor position, and other parameters of a particular process performed by multi-station processing tool 2300. For example, various process tool component subroutines or control objects may be written to control operation of the process tool components used to carry out various process tool processes. System control software 2331 may be coded in any suitable computer readable programming language.

[0124] In some aspects, system control software 2331 may include input / output control (IOC) sequencing instructions for controlling the various parameters described above. Other computer software and / or programs stored on mass storage device 2327 and / or memory device 2325 associated with system controller 2323 may be employed in some aspects. Examples of programs or sections of programs for this purpose include a substrate positioning program, a process gas control program, a valve control program, a pressure control program, a heater control program, a cooler control program, and a plasma control program.

[0125] A substrate positioning program may include program code for process tool components that are used to load and orientate wafer 303 on pedestal 2321 and to control the spacing between wafer 303 and other parts of multi-station processing tool 2300.

[0126] A process gas control program may include code for controlling gas composition (e.g., silicon-containing gases, oxygen-containing gases, nitrogen-containing gases, dilution (or inert) gases, etc.) flow rates, flow conductances, and optionally for flowing gas into one or more process stations prior to deposition to stabilize the pressure in the process station. The process gas control program may additionally or alternatively include code for controlling delivery of vapor-phase precursor that may exhibit a solid- or liquid-phase at ambient temperature and pressure conditions. A pressure control program may include code for controlling the pressure in the process station by regulating, for example, a throttle valve in an exhaust system of the process station, a gas flow into the process station via vapor-phase delivery system 103, and / or the like.

[0127] A heater control program may include code for controlling current to one or more heating units used to heat a pedestal (e.g., pedestal 2321), a gas distributor (e.g., gas distributor 311) of process chamber 2315, conduits and / or other components of vapor-phasedelivery system 103, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the heater control program may control delivery of a heat transfer gas (such as helium) to a gas distributor, and, thereby, to wafer 303.

[0128] A cooling control program may include code for controlling a flow rate of conductive cooling fluid through a cooling unit used to extract heat from a pedestal (e.g., pedestal 2321) and / or a gas distributor (e.g., gas distributor 311) of process chamber 2315, and, thereby, transfer such thermal energy to, for instance, a waste heat capturing, storage, recycling, and / or disposing system. The flow of the cooling fluid through the cooling unit may also extract heat from wafer 303.

[0129] A plasma control program may include code for setting RF power levels applied to the process electrodes in one or more process stations in accordance with various aspects.

[0130] A pressure control program may include code for maintaining pressure in a reaction chamber in accordance with various aspects.

[0131] In some aspects, a user interface may be provided in association with system controller 2323. The user interface may include a display screen, graphical software displays of the apparatus and / or process conditions, and user input devices, such as pointing devices, keyboards, touch screens, microphones, etc.

[0132] In some aspects, parameters adjusted by system controller 2323 may relate to process conditions. Non-limiting examples include process gas composition and flow rates, temperature, pressure, plasma conditions (such as RF bias power levels), pressure, temperature, etc. These parameters may be provided to the user in the form of a recipe, which may be entered utilizing the user interface.

[0133] Signals for monitoring the process may be provided by analog and / or digital input connections of system controller 2323 from various process tool sensors. The signals for controlling the process may be output on analog and / or digital output connections of multistation process tool 2300. Non-limiting examples of process tool sensors that may be monitored include mass flow controllers, pressure sensors (such as manometers), thermocouples, etc. Appropriately programmed feedback and control algorithms may be used with data from the sensors to maintain process conditions.

[0134] System controller 2323 may provide program instructions for implementing one or more of the above-described processes. The program instructions may control a variety ofprocess parameters, such as direct current (DC) power level, RF bias power level, pressure, temperature, etc. The instructions may control the parameters to operate deposition of film stacks of a stress compensation layer according to various aspects.

[0135] System controller 2323 will typically include one or more memory devices and one or more processors configured to execute the instructions so that the apparatus will perform a method in accordance with some aspects. In some instances, machine-readable media containing instructions for controlling process operations in accordance with various aspects may be coupled to system controller 2323.

[0136] In some aspects, system controller 2323 may be part of a system, which may be part of at least one of the above-described examples. Such systems may include semiconductor processing equipment, including a processing tool or tools, a chamber or chambers, a platform or platforms for processing, and / or specific processing components (e.g., a wafer pedestal, a gas flow system, a thermal management system, etc.). The systems discussed above may be integrated with electronics for controlling their operation before, during, and / or after processing of a semiconductor wafer or substrate. The electronics may be referred to as the "controller," which may control various components or subparts of the system or systems. For instance, system controller 2323, depending on the processing requirements and / or the type of system, may be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, including the delivery of processing gases, temperature settings (e.g., heating and / or cooling), valve operation, flow adjuster operation, light source control for radiative heating, pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, RF generator settings, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, positional and operational settings, wafer transfers into and out of a tool or chamber and other transfer tools and / or load locks connected to or interfaced with a specific system. In this manner, system controller 2323 may be configured to control, among other systems, the various actuators and motors of a wafer processing system and flow adjusters of a fluid delivery system.

[0137] Broadly speaking, system controller 2323 may be defined as electronics having various integrated circuits, logic, memory, and / or software that receive instructions, issue instructions, control operation, enable cleaning operations, enable endpoint measurements, and / or the like. The integrated circuits may include chips in the form of firmware that store program instructions, digital signal processors (DSPs), chips defined as application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), and / or one or more microprocessors, or microcontrollers that execute program instructions (e.g., software). Program instructions may be instructions communicated to system controller 2323 in the form of various individual settings (or program files), defining operational parameters for carrying out a particular process on or for a semiconductor wafer or to a system. The operational parameters may, in some aspects, be part of a recipe defined by process engineers to accomplish one or more processing steps during the fabrication of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon oxide, surfaces, circuits, dies of a wafer, etc.

[0138] System controller 2323, in some implementations, may be a part of or coupled to a computer that is integrated with, coupled to the system, otherwise networked to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, system controller 2323 may be in the "cloud" or all or a part of a fab host computer system, which can allow for remote access of wafer processing.The computer may enable remote access to the system to monitor current progress of fabrication operations, examine a history of past fabrication operations, examine trends or performance metrics from a plurality of fabrication operations, to change parameters of current processing, to set processing steps to follow a current processing, or to start a new process. In some examples, a remote computer (e.g., a server) can provide process recipes to a system over a network, which may include a local network or the Internet. The remote computer may include a user interface that enables entry or programming of parameters and / or settings, which are then communicated to the system from the remote computer. In some examples, the controller receives instructions in the form of data, which specify parameters for each of the processing steps to be performed during one or more operations. It is to be understood that the parameters may be specific to the type of process to be performed and the type of tool that the controller is configured to interface with or control. Thus, as described above, system controller 2323 may be distributed, such as by including one or more discrete controllers that are networked together and working towards a common purpose, such as the processes and controls described herein. An example of a distributed controller for such purposes would be one or more integrated circuits on a chamber in communication with one or more integrated circuits located remotely (such as at the platform level or as part of a remote computer) that combine to control a process on the chamber.

[0139] Without limitation, example systems may include a plasma etch chamber or module, adeposition chamber or module, a spin-rinse chamber or module, a metal plating chamber or module, a clean chamber or module, a bevel edge etch chamber or module, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber or module, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber or module, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber or module, an atomic layer etch (ALE) chamber or module, an ion implantation chamber or module, a track chamber or module, and / or any other semiconductor processing system that may be associated or used in the fabrication and / or manufacturing of semiconductor wafers.

[0140] As noted above, depending on the process step or steps to be performed by the tool, system controller 2323 might communicate with one or more of other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, cluster tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, neighboring tools, tools located throughout a factory, a main computer, another controller, and / or tools used in material transport that bring containers of wafers to and from tool locations and / or load ports in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.Additional and / or Alternative Aspects

[0141] Unless otherwise specified, the illustrated aspects are to be understood as providing example features of varying detail of some aspects. Thus, unless otherwise specified, the features, components, modules, layers, films, regions, aspects, structures, etc. (hereinafter individually or collectively referred to as an "element" or "elements"), of the various illustrations may be otherwise combined, separated, interchanged, and / or rearranged without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.

[0142] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing some aspects and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms, "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is to be understood that the phrases "for each <item> of the one or more <items>," "each <item> of the one or more <items>," and / or the like, if used herein, are inclusive of both a single-item group and multiple-item groups, i.e., the phrase "for . . . each" is used in the sense that it is used in programming languages to refer to each item of whatever population of items is referenced. For example, if the population of items referenced is a single item, then "each" would refer to only that single item (despite dictionary definitions of "each" frequently defining the term to refer to "every one of two or more things") and would not imply that there must be at least two of those items. Similarly, the term "set" or "subset" should not be viewed, in itself,as necessarily encompassing a plurality of items— it is to be understood that a set or a subset can encompass only one member or multiple members (unless the context indicates otherwise). The terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. It is also noted that, as used herein, the terms "substantially," "about," and other similar terms, are used as terms of approximation and not as terms of degree, and, as such, are utilized to account for inherent deviations in measured, calculated, and / or provided values that would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the term "substantially" as used herein, unless otherwise specified, means within 5% of a referenced value. For example, substantially perpendicular means within ±5% of parallel.

[0143] The use of cross-hatching and / or shading in the accompanying drawings is generally provided to clarify boundaries between adjacent elements. As such, neither the presence nor the absence of cross-hatching or shading conveys or indicates any preference or requirement for particular materials, material properties, dimensions, proportions, commonalities between illustrated elements, and / or any other characteristic, attribute, property, etc., of the elements, unless specified. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the size and relative sizes of elements may be exaggerated for clarity and / or descriptive purposes. As such, the sizes and relative sizes of the respective elements are not necessarily limited to the sizes and relative sizes shown in the drawings. When an aspect may be implemented differently, a specific process order may be performed differently from the described order. For example, two consecutively described processes may be performed substantially at the same time or performed in an order opposite to the described order.

[0144] When an element, such as a layer, is referred to as being "on," "connected to," or "coupled to" another element, it may be directly on, directly connected to, or directly coupled to the other element or at least one intervening element may be present. When, however, an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other terms and / or phrases if used herein to describe a relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion, such as "between" versus "directly between," "adjacent" versus "directly adjacent,""on" versus "directly on," etc. Further, the term "connected" may refer to physical, electrical, and / or fluid connection. To this end, for the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "f I uidica I ly connected" is used with respect to volumes, plenums, holes, etc., that may be connected to one another, either directly or via one or more intervening components or volumes, to form a fluidic connection, similar to how the phrase "electrically connected" is used with respect to components that are connected to form an electric connection. The phrase "fluidica lly interposed," if used, may be used to refer to a component, volume, plenum, hole, etc., that is fl uidica I ly connected with at least two other components, volumes, plenums, holes, etc., such that fluid flowing from one of those other components, volumes, plenums, holes etc., to the other or another of those components, volumes, plenums, holes, etc., would first flow through the "fl uidica I ly interposed" component before reaching that other or another of those components, volumes, plenums, holes, etc.. For example, if a pump is fl uidica lly interposed between a reservoir and an outlet, fluid flowing from the reservoir to the outlet would first flow through the pump before reaching the outlet. The phrase "fluidica lly adjacent," if used, refers to placement of a fluidic element relative to another fluidic element such that no potential structures fl uidica I ly are interposed between the two elements that might potentially interrupt fluid flow between the two fluidic elements. For example, in a flow path having a first valve, a second valve, and a third valve arranged sequentially therealong, the first valve would be fluidica lly adjacent to the second valve, the second valve fluidica lly adjacent to both the first and third valves, and the third valve fl uidica lly adjacent to the second valve.

[0145] For the purposes of this disclosure, "at least one of X, Y, . . ., and Z" and "at least one selected from the group consisting of X, Y, . . ., and Z" may be construed as X only, Y only, . . ., Z only, or any combination of two or more of X, Y, . . ., and Z, such as, for instance, XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0146] Although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another element. Thus, a first element discussed below could be termed a second element without departing from the teachings of the disclosure. To this end, use of such identifiers, e.g., "a first element," should not be read as suggesting, implicitly or inherently, that there is necessarily another instance, e.g., "a second element." Further, theuse, if any, of ordinal indicators, such as (a), (b), (c), . . ., or (1), (2), (3), . . ., or the like, in this disclosure and accompanying claims, is to be understood as not conveying any particular order or sequence, except to the extent that such an order or sequence is explicitly indicated. For example, if there are three steps labeled (i), (ii), and (iii), it is to be understood that these steps may be performed in any order (or even concurrently, if not otherwise contraindicated), unless indicated otherwise. For example, if step (ii) involves the handling of an element that is created in step (i), then step (ii) may be viewed as happening at some point after step (i). In a similar manner, if step (i) involves the handling of an element that is created in step (ii), the reverse is to be understood.

[0147] Spatially relative terms, such as "beneath," "below," "under," "lower," "above," "upper," "over," "higher," "side" (e.g., as in "sidewall"), and the like, may be used herein for descriptive purposes, and, thereby, to describe one element's spatial relationship to at least one other element as illustrated in the drawings. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of an apparatus in use, operation, and / or manufacture in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the apparatus in the drawings is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" or "over" the other elements or features. Thus, the term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Furthermore, the apparatus may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and, as such, the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0148] The term "between," as used herein and when used with a range of values, is to be understood, unless otherwise indicated, as being inclusive of the start and end values of that range. For example, between 1 and 5 is to be understood as inclusive of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, not just the numbers 2, 3, and 4.

[0149] As used herein, the phrase "operatively connected" is to be understood as referring to a state in which two components and / or systems are connected, either directly or indirectly, such that, for example, at least one component or system can control the other. For instance, a controller may be described as being operatively connected with (or to) a resistive heating unit, which is inclusive of the controller being connected with a sub-controller of the resistive heating unit that is electrically connected with a relay that is configured to controllably connect or disconnect the resistive heating unit with a power source that is capable of providing anamount of power that is able to power the resistive heating unit so as to generate a desired degree of heating. The controller itself likely will not supply such power directly to the resistive heating unit due to the current(s) involved, but it is to be understood that the controller is nonetheless operatively connected with the resistive heating unit.

[0150] As used herein, the singular forms, "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is also to be understood that the phrases "for each <item> of the one or more <items>," "each <item> of the one or more <items>," and / or the like, if used herein, are inclusive of both a single-item group and multiple-item groups, i.e., the phrase "for . . . each" is used in the sense that it is used in programming languages to refer to each item of whatever population of items is referenced. For example, if the population of items referenced is a single item, then "each" would refer to only that single item (despite dictionary definitions of "each" frequently defining the term to refer to "every one of two or more things") and would not imply that there must be at least two of those items. Similarly, the term "set" or "subset" should not be viewed, in itself, as necessarily encompassing a plurality of items— it is to be understood that a set or a subset can encompass only one member or multiple members (unless the context indicates otherwise). In addition, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0151] Various aspects are described herein with reference to sectional views, isometric views, perspective views, plan views, and / or exploded illustrations that are schematic depictions of idealized aspects and / or intermediate structures. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result of, for example, manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, aspects disclosed herein should not be construed as limited to the particular illustrated shapes of regions, but are to include deviations in shapes that result from, for instance, manufacturing. To this end, regions illustrated in the drawings may be schematic in nature and shapes of these regions may not reflect the actual shapes of regions of a device, and, as such, are not intended to be limiting.

[0152] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is a part. Terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and are not to be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

[0153] As customary in the field, some aspects are described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in terms of functional blocks, units, and / or modules. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these blocks, units, and / or modules are physically implemented by electronic (or optical) circuits, such as logic circuits, discrete components, microprocessors, hard-wired circuits, memory elements, wiring connections, and the like, which may be formed using semiconductor-based fabrication techniques or other manufacturing technologies. In the case of the blocks, units, and / or modules being implemented by microprocessors or other similar hardware, they may be programmed and controlled using software (e.g., microcode) to perform various functions discussed herein and may optionally be driven by firmware and / or software. It is also contemplated that each block, unit, and / or module may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or as a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions and a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry) to perform other functions. Also, each block, unit, and / or module of some aspects may be physically separated into two or more interacting and discrete blocks, units, and / or modules without departing from the inventive concepts. Further, the blocks, units, and / or modules of some aspects may be physically combined into more complex blocks, units, and / or modules without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.

[0154] Although the foregoing aspects have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the processes, systems, and apparatuses of the disclosed aspects. Accordingly, aspects are to be considered as illustrative and not as restrictive, and aspects are not to be limited to the details given herein.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A semiconductor processing apparatus, comprising: a process chamber having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having a first fluidic disconnect with a first port and a gas distributor configured to flow fluid into a process volume, and the second portion having a second fluidic disconnect with a second port; a fluid delivery system having: a plurality of gas source manifolds, a first delivery portion in the first portion and having a first delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the first port, and a second delivery portion in the second portion and having a second delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the second port; and a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the process chamber and the fluid delivery system, wherein: the first portion is movably mated with the second portion in a first configuration and spaced apart from the second portion in a second configuration, in the first configuration, the first port of the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, in the second configuration the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically disconnected from the second fluidic disconnect thereby causing the first delivery portion to be fluidically disconnected from the second delivery portion, the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: flow one or more first process chemistries along a first flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the first flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least the first delivery conduit, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least the second delivery conduit, and while in the second configuration:flow a first purge gas along the first section and through the first port, and flow, while flowing the first purge gas, a second purge gas along the second section and through the second port.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: flow, while in the first configuration, one or more second process gases to the gas distributor along a second flow path through only the first delivery portion, and flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and second purge gas, a third purge gas along the second flow path and through the gas distributor.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second flow path and the first section of the first flow path in the first portion partially overlap.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: close a first valve along the second flow path and flow the one or more first process chemistries along the first flow path to the gas distributor and thereby fluidically isolate an upstream section of the second flow path from the overlapping section of the second flow path and the first flow path, and close a second valve along the first flow path while flowing the one or more second process gases along the second flow path to the gas distributor and thereby fluidically isolate an upstream section of the first flow path from the overlapping section of the second flow path and the first flow path.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 or 4, wherein the third purge gas flows along the overlapping section of the first flow path and the second flow path to the gas distributor.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: the first fluidic disconnect has a third port,the second fluidic disconnect has a fourth port, in the first configuration, the third port of the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to the fourth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a second fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: flow one or more third process gases along a third flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the third flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least a third delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the third port, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least a fourth delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the fourth port, and flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and second purge gas: a fourth purge gas along the first section of the third flow path and through the third port, and a fifth purge gas along the second section of the third flow path and through the fourth port.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: the fourth purge gas is the first purge gas, and the fifth purge gas is the second purge gas.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 or 7, wherein the first section of the third flow path and the first section of the first flow path partially overlap.

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: the fluid delivery system further comprises a vacuum pump fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to pump down to vacuum, while in the first configuration, the first section of the first flow path through the first port and the second port.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the first fluidic disconnect has a fifth port, the second fluidic disconnect has a sixth port, in the first configuration, the fifth port of the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to the sixth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a third fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to pump down to vacuum, while in the first configuration, a fourth flow path of the first delivery portion in the first portion through the fifth port, the sixth port, and the second fluidic disconnect.

11. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: the fluid delivery system further comprises a vapor delivery apparatus having a reservoir with a precursor, an inlet, and an outlet, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: flow gas into the inlet and flow gas and precursor out of the outlet to the gas distributor along a fifth flow path, and flow a sixth purge gas into the inlet and out the outlet along a section of the fifth flow path and without passing through the reservoir.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the first fluidic disconnect has a seventh port, the second fluidic disconnect has an eighth port, in the first configuration, the seventh port of the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to the eighth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a fourth fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and the second purge gas:the sixth purge gas out of the outlet of the reservoir, along a section of the fifth flow path and out of the seventh port, and a seventh purge gas through the second fluidic disconnect and out the eighth port.

13. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-12, wherein in the second configuration the first portion and second portion are offset from each other by at least one foot.

14. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-13, wherein processing operations are not performed while in the second configuration.

15. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-14, wherein the first portion is a removable top of a multi-station semiconductor processing apparatus.

16. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-15, wherein: the one or more first process chemistries are flowed along the first flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor during a first time interval, the first purge gas is flowed along the first section of the first flow path in the first portion and through the first port during a second time interval in which the first portion is in the second configuration, and the second purge gas is flowed along the second section of the first flow path in the second portion and through the second port during the second time interval.

17. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a semiconductor processing tool having a process chamber with a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having a first fluidic disconnect with a first port and a gas distributor configured to flow fluid into a process volume, and the second portion having a second fluidic disconnect with a second port, and a fluid delivery system having a plurality of gas source manifolds, a first delivery portion in the first portion and having a first delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the first port, and a second delivery portion in the second portion and having a second delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the second port, cause the one or more processors to:cause the first portion and the second portion to be in a first configuration such that the first portion is movably mated with the second portion, wherein in the first configuration, the first port of the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, cause the first portion and the second portion to be in a second configuration in which the first portion is spaced apart from the second portion, wherein in the second configuration the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically disconnected from the second fluidic disconnect thereby causing the first delivery portion to be fluidically disconnected from the second delivery portion, cause the fluid delivery system to: flow one or more first process chemistries along a first flow path through the second fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the first flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least the first delivery conduit, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least the second delivery conduit, and while in the second configuration: flow a first purge gas along the first section of the first flow path and through the first port, and flow, while flowing the first purge gas, a second purge gas along the second section of the first flow path and through the second port.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: flow, while in the first configuration, one or more second process gases to the gas distributor along a second flow path through only the first delivery portion, and flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and second purge gas, a third purge gas along the second flow path and through the gas distributor.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: close a first valve along the second flow path and flow the one or more first process chemistries along the first flow path to the gas distributor and thereby fluidically isolate anupstream section of the second flow path from an overlapping section of the second flow path and the first flow path, and close a second valve along the first flow path while flowing the one or more second process gases along the second flow path to the gas distributor and thereby fluidical ly isolate an upstream section of the first flow path from the overlapping section of the second flow path and the first flow path.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable media of any one of claims 17-19, wherein: the first fluidic disconnect has a third port, the second fluidic disconnect has a fourth port, in the first configuration, the third port of the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to the fourth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a second fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: flow one or more third process gases along a third flow path through the fluidic disconnect and through the first delivery portion to the gas distributor while in the first configuration, the third flow path having a first section in the first delivery portion that has at least a third delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the third port, and having a second section in the second delivery portion that has at least a fourth delivery conduit fluidically coupled to the fourth port, and flow, while in the second configuration and while flowing the first purge gas and second purge gas: a fourth purge gas along the first section of the third flow path and through the third port, and a fifth purge gas along the second section of the third flow path and through the fourth port.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable media of any one of claims 17-20, wherein: the fluid delivery system further comprises a vacuum pump fluidically connected to the second port of the second fluidic disconnect, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to pump down to vacuum, while in the first configuration, the first delivery portion of the first flow path through the first port and the second port.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable media of any one of claims 17-21, wherein: the first fluidic disconnect has a fifth port, the second fluidic disconnect has a sixth port, in the first configuration, the fifth port of the first fluidic disconnect is fluidically connected to the sixth port of the second fluidic disconnect thereby creating a third fluidic connection between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to pump down to vacuum, while in the first configuration, a fourth flow path of the first delivery portion in the first portion through the fifth port, the sixth port, and the second fluidic disconnect.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable media of any one of claims 17-22, wherein: the fluid delivery system further comprises a vapor delivery apparatus having a reservoir with a precursor, an inlet, and an outlet, and the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the fluid delivery system to: flow gas into the inlet and flow gas and precursor out of the outlet to the gas distributor along a fifth flow path, and flow a sixth purge gas into the inlet and out the outlet without passing through the reservoir.

Images