Systems and techniques for bulk precursor delivery for semiconductor processing

Abstract

Precursor delivery systems are provided. In one embodiment, a precursor delivery system has an ampoule having an inlet and an outlet, and configured to contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor, receive an inert gas through the inlet, and flow a first mixture of the inert gas and the precursor vapor out of the outlet, and have a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the outlet of the ampoule and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules. Each flow path may be configured to flow the first mixture, configured to maintain the first mixture at a temperature between 100 °C and 150 °C, and have a high-temperature mass flow controller configured to control flow of the first mixture along the flow path.

Description

SYSTEMS AND TECHNIQUES FOR BULK PRECURSOR DELIVERY FOR SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSINGINCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

[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 processing 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] 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 embodiments and / or the claimed subject matter.

[0006] In one implementation, a precursor delivery system is provided. The precursor delivery system may include an ampoule having an inlet and an outlet, and configured to contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor, receive an inert gas through the inlet, and flow a first mixture of the inert gas and the precursor vapor out of the outlet, and a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the outlet of the ampoule and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules. Each flow path may be configured to flow the first mixture, may be configured to maintain the first mixture at a temperature between 100 °C and 150 °C, and may have a high-temperature mass flow controller configured to control flow of the first mixture along the flow path.

[0007] In some implementations, the system may further include a plurality of inert gas delivery conduits. Each inert gas delivery conduit may be fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at an inert gas insertion point of each flow path.

[0008] In some such implementations, the system may further include a plurality of inert gas mass flow controllers. Each inert gas mass flow controller may be fluidically connected to a corresponding inert gas delivery conduit, and may be configured to flow inert gas into the corresponding flow path.

[0009] In some such implementations, the system may further include a plurality of inert gas flow orifices. Each inert gas flow orifice may be fluidically connected to a corresponding inert gas delivery conduit, and may be configured to choke inert gas flow into the corresponding flow path.

[0010] In some such implementations, the system may further include an exhaust, a plurality of divert conduits that are fluidically connected to the exhaust, and a plurality of divert valves. Each divert conduit may be fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at a divert point of the flow path, each divert valve may be fluidically connected to a corresponding divert conduit and configured to control the flow of the mixture between the corresponding flow path and the exhaust, the divert point may be upstream of the inert gas insertion point and the high- temperature mass flow controller, the inert gas insertion point may be upstream of the high- temperature mas flow controller, and when one divert valve of one flow path is closed, the inert gas may be configured to flow to the flow path and the high-temperature mass flow controller.

[0011] In some such implementations, each flow path may include a second inert gas insertion point configured to receive inert gas into the flow path from the corresponding inert gas delivery conduit, the inert gas insertion point may be upstream of the high-temperature mas flow controller, and the second inert gas insertion point may be downstream of the high-temperature mas flow controller.

[0012] In some implementations, the system may further include a pressure flow controller configured to control a pressure of the ampoule by controlling a flow of the inert gas into the ampoule through the inlet.

[0013] In some implementations, the system may further include an inert gas mass flow controller fluidically connected to the inlet of the ampoule and configured to flow the inert gas into the ampoule.

[0014] In some implementations, the system may further include a plurality of mass flow controllers. Each mass flow controller may be fluidically connected to one corresponding flow path, fluidically interposed along the corresponding flow path between the outlet of the ampoule and the high-temperature mass flow controller, and configured to control a flow of the mixture along the flow path.

[0015] In some implementations, upstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller, each flow path may be configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 120 °C and 145 °C, and downstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller, each flow path may be configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 100 °C and 130 °C.

[0016] In some implementations, each flow path may include a plurality of gas delivery conduits that are comprised of a stainless steel or a stainless steel alloy.

[0017] In some implementations, the system may further include an adjustable control valve configured to adjust flow of the inert gas into the inlet of the ampoule, a mass flow meter fluidically interposed between the adjustable valve and the inlet of the ampoule, and configured to measure a mass flow rate of the inert gas flowing into the ampoule, an orifice fluidically connected downstream of the outlet of the ampoule, a reserve volume fluidically connected to the orifice and the ampoule, downstream of the orifice, and fluidically interposed between the ampoule and the plurality of flow paths such that the first mixture flows from the reserve volume to each flow path, and a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system. The ampoule may further have a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and a heater, the controller may be configured to receive signals from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, and the pressure sensor, and the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the adjustment, based on orifice information and signals received from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, and the pressure sensor, of the adjustable valve to maintain the first mixture at a first mole fraction of precursor and a second mole fraction of inert gas.

[0018] In some implementations, the system may further include a control valve fluidically interposed between the orifice and the reserve volume. The instructions may be further configured to cause the processor to cause the control valve to open when a pressure in the reserve volume falls below a lower pressure threshold, and close when the pressure in the reserve volume reaches an upper pressure threshold.

[0019] In some such implementations, the reserve volume may further have a reserve volume pressure sensor, and the instructions may be further configured to cause the processor to cause the control valve to open and close based, at least in part, on signals from the reserve volume pressure sensor.

[0020] In some such implementations, the instructions may be further configured to cause the processor to cause the heater to increase heat applied to the precursor in the ampoule.

[0021] In some such implementations, the system may further include a second pressure sensor fluidically interposed between the orifice and the reserve volume, and configured to measure a pressure of the mixture. The instructions may be configured to adjust, based on orifice information and signals received from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, the pressure sensor, and the second pressure sensor, the adjustable valve to maintain the first mixture at a first mole fraction of precursor and a second mole fraction of inert gas.

[0022] In some implementations, the reserve volume may have a volume larger than 8 liters.

[0023] In one implementation, a precursor delivery system is provided. The precursor delivery system may include an ampoule having an outlet and configured to contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor in a headspace, and only flow the precursor vapor out of the outlet, a mixture volume fluidically connected to, downstream of, the ampoule, an inert gas flow path comprising one or more delivery conduits and configured to flow an inert gas into the mixture volume, a precursor vapor flow path fluidically connecting the outlet of the ampoule to the mixture volume, and a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the mixture volume and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules. The precursor vapor flow path may have a first control valve downstream of the outlet, a pressure-controlled vapor volume downstream of the control valve, a resistive flow element downstream of the pressure-controlled vapor volume and configured to cause a resistance to flow of the vapor, and a second control valve downstream of the resistive flow element and configured to control the flow of the vapor to the mixture volume, the inert gas flow path may have a third control valve configured to control the flow of the inert gas to the mixture volume, and the mixture volume may be configured to hold a mixture of theinert gas and the precursor vapor.

[0024] In some implementations, the inert gas flow path may further have a second resistive flow element upstream of the third control valve and configured to cause a resistance to the flow of the inert gas, a pressure-controlled inert gas volume upstream of the second resistive flow element, and a fourth control valve upstream of the pressure-controlled inert gas volume and configured to control the flow of inert gas into the pressure-controlled inert gas volume.

[0025] In some such implementations, the system may further include a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the second control valve and the third control valve to open at substantially the same time, and the second control valve and the third control valve to close at substantially the same time.

[0026] In some such implementations, the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the second control valve to open for a first time period, and cause the third control valve to open for a second time period that is longer than the first time period.

[0027] In some such implementations, the first time period and the second time period may overlap with each other.

[0028] In some implementations, the system may further include a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system. The mixture volume may be a pressure-controlled mixture volume that comprises a mixture volume pressure sensor, and the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the second control valve and the third control valve to open and close to maintain a pressure of the mixture volume within a pressure region.

[0029] In some implementations, the inert gas flow path may further have a second resistive flow element upstream of the third control valve and configured to cause a resistance to the flow of the inert gas, and a pressure-controlled inert gas volume upstream of the second resistive flow element, and the third control valve may be the same valve as the third control valve such that the inert gas flow path and the vapor flow path meet at the same valve and flow through the same delivery conduit from the same valve to the mixture volume, and the same valve is configured to control the flow of both the inert gas and the vapor to the mixture volume.

[0030] In some such implementations, the system may further include a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the same valve to open for a first time period to flow the inert gas and the vapor to the mixture volume.

[0031] In some such implementations, the system may further include a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system. The mixture volume may be a pressure-controlled mixture volume that comprises a mixture volume pressure sensor, and the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the same valve to open and close to maintain a pressure of the mixture volume within a pressure region.

[0032] In some such implementations, the system may further include the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause a first pressure in the pressure- controlled vapor volume to be maintained within a first pressure region, and a second pressure in the pressure-controlled inert gas volume to be maintained within a second pressure region.

[0033] In some such implementations, the pressure-controlled vapor volume may have a first pressure sensor, the pressure-controlled inert gas volume may have a second pressure sensor, and the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to receive signals from the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor, cause the first control valve to operate to maintain the first pressure within the first pressure region, and cause the fourth control valve to operate to maintain the second pressure within the second pressure region.

[0034] In some implementations, the resistive flow element and the second resistive flow element may both be flow orifices.

[0035] In some implementations, the resistive flow element may be configured to restrict more flow than the second resistive flow element.

[0036] In some implementations, the first control valve may be a first throttle valve configured to maintain a first pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume within a first pressure region, and / or the fourth control valve may be a fourth throttle valve configured to maintain a fourth pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume within a fourth pressure region.

[0037] In some implementations, the inert gas flow path may further have a mass flow controller upstream of the third control valve configured to flow the inert gas to the third control valve and the mixture volume.

[0038] In some implementations, the system may further include a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system. The instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the mass flow controller to flow the inert gas to the third control valve before opening the second control valve or the third control valve, the second control valve and the third control valve to open at substantially the same time, and the second control valve and the third control valve to close atsubstantially the same time.

[0039] In some implementations, the system may further include a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system. The instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the mass flow controller to flow the inert gas to the third control valve before opening the second control valve or the third control valve, the second control valve to open for a first time period, and the third control valve to open for a second time period that is longer than the first time period.

[0040] In some implementations, the first time period and the second time period may overlap with each other.

[0041] In some implementations, the instructions may be further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause a first pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume to be maintained within a first pressure region.

[0042] In some implementations, the pressure-controlled vapor volume may have a first pressure sensor, and the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to receive signals from the first pressure sensor, and cause the first control valve to operate to maintain the first pressure within the first pressure region.

[0043] In some implementations, the system may further include a divert flow path that is fluidically connected to the inert gas flow path upstream of the third control valve, and has a divert valve configured to control the flow of gas along the divert flow path. The inert gas may be configured to flow to the divert flow path when the third control valve is closed and the divert valve is open.

[0044] In some implementations, the system may further include a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system. The instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the divert valve to be open when the third valve is closed.

[0045] In some implementations, the system may further include a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system. The mixture volume may be a pressure-controlled mixture volume that comprises a mixture volume pressure sensor, and the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the second control valve and the third control valve to open and close to maintain a pressure of the mixture volume within a pressure region.

[0046] In some implementations, the inert gas flow path and the vapor flow path may terminate at a pre-mixing chamber upstream of the mixture volume.

[0047] In some implementations, the system may further include a plurality of mass flow controllers. Each mass flow controller may be fluidically connected to one corresponding flow path, fluidically interposed along the corresponding flow path between the outlet of the mixture volume and the corresponding processing module, and configured to control a flow of the mixture along the flow path.

[0048] In some implementations, each flow path may be configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 125 °C and 145 °C.

[0049] In some implementations, each flow path may be configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 100 °C and 130 °C.

[0050] In some implementations, each flow path may include a plurality of gas delivery conduits that are comprised of a stainless steel or a stainless steel alloy.

[0051] In some implementations, the system may further include a second mixture volume downstream of the mixture volume. A mixture of the inert gas and the vapor in the mixture volume may flow to the second mixture volume before flowing to the plurality of flow paths.

[0052] In some implementations, the inert gas may not be flowed into the ampoule.

[0053] In one implementation, a precursor delivery system is provided. The precursor delivery system may include an ampoule having an outlet and configured to contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor in a headspace, and only flow the precursor vapor out of the outlet, a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the outlet of the ampoule and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules, and a plurality of first inert gas delivery conduits, each first inert gas delivery conduit being fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at a first inert gas insertion point of each flow path. Each flow path may be configured to flow the precursor vapor from the ampoule to the first inert gas insertion point, configured to flow a mixture of the precursor vapor and the inert gas downstream of the first inert gas insertion point, configured to maintain the first mixture at a temperature between 100 °C and 150 °C, and have a high- temperature mass flow controller configured to control flow of the first mixture along the flow path.

[0054] In some implementations, the system may further include the features of any one of the above implementations.

[0055] In some implementations, the system may further include a plurality of first inert gas mass flow controllers. Each first inert gas mass flow controller may be fluidically connected to a corresponding first inert gas delivery conduit, and configured to flow inert gas into thecorresponding flow path.

[0056] In some implementations, the system may further include a plurality of first inert gas flow orifices. Each first inert gas flow orifice may be fluidically connected to a corresponding first inert gas delivery conduit, and configured to choke inert gas flow into the corresponding flow path.

[0057] In one implementation, a method of precursor delivery using the system of any one of the above implementations is provided. The method may include flowing the mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor through the high-temperature mass flow controller of each flow path to flow the mixture to the processing volume of the corresponding processing module during a dose step of a processing cycle, stopping the flow of mixture to the high-temperature mass flow controller without closing the high-temperature mass flow controller, and flowing, during or after the stopping, inert gas through the high-temperature mass flow controller without closing the high-temperature mass flow controller.

[0058] In some implementations, the method may further include flowing, after flowing the inert gas, the mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor through the high-temperature mass flow controller of each flow path to flow the mixture to the processing volume of the corresponding processing module during a dose step of a second processing cycle.

[0059] 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

[0060] Various embodiments 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.

[0061] Figure 1 depicts an example precursor delivery system according to various implementations .

[0062] Figure 2 depicts the system of Figure 1 in another valve configuration according to various embodiments.

[0063] Figure 2A depicts the system of Figure 1 in yet another valve configuration according to various embodiments.

[0064] Figure 3 depicts a system similar to the system of Figure 1.

[0065] Figure 4 depicts an example precursor delivery system according to various implementations .

[0066] Figure 5 depicts another precursor delivery system according to various embodiments.

[0067] Figure 6 depicts yet another precursor delivery system according to various embodiments.

[0068] Figure 7 depicts another precursor delivery system according to various embodiments.

[0069] Figure 8 depicts yet another precursor delivery system according to various implementations .

[0070] Figure 9 depicts another precursor delivery system according to various implementations .

[0071] Figure 10 schematically illustrates a multi-station processing tool according to some embodiments.

[0072] Figure 11 depicts yet another precursor delivery system according to various implementations .

[0073] Figure 12 depicts the system of Figure 11 in another configuration.

[0074] Figure 13 depicts an example technique for semiconductor processing.

[0075] Figure 14 depicts another example technique for semiconductor processing.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

[0076] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments. The disclosed embodiments 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 embodiments. While the disclosed embodiments will be described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments.

[0077] 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 embodiments include various articles, such as printed circuit boards, magnetic recording media, magnetic recording sensors, mirrors, optical elements, micro-mechanical devices, and the like.Introduction and Context

[0078] 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.

[0079] As new and different precursors and chemistries are used in semiconductor manufacturing processes, new and difficult challenges are presented in delivering these chemistries to processing stations where substrates are located in cost effective and efficient manners that also prevent or reduce unwanted defects to the substrates and equipment. For example, some precursors must be maintained at elevated temperatures after vaporization to prevent such vaporized precursor from condensing in the system delivering the precursor to the wafer. This unwanted condensed precursor can cause defects to substrates and damage to the precursor delivery system. Further, heating elements of the precursor delivery system can cause unwanted damage or fast degradation to the delivery system and for some temperature ranges, can also require expensive parts that can withstand such elevated temperatures.

[0080] The bulk delivery of some new processing chemistries presents additional and novel challenges as well. Bulk delivery of a process chemistry may be considered the delivery of the chemistry from one location in a fabrication facility to one or more separate locations in the fabrication facility where one or more processing chambers are located. For instance, some semiconductor processing tools may be considered a multi-station tool that has more than one processing station, such as 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 stations. Providing bulk delivery of a process chemistry from one location in the facility, which may sometimes be referred to as a “sub-fab” location below the fabrication floor where the processing tools are location, to a multi-station tool presents numerous difficulties which may be made more challenging when the process chemistries are difficult to transport long distances, such as those that must be maintained at elevated temperatures, such as above 100 C, 110 C, 120 C, 130 C, or 140 C.

[0081] Provided herein are new and novel systems, apparatuses, and techniques for providing bulk delivery of a processing chemistry, such as a precursor, from one location in the fabrication facility to multiple processing stations in one or more processing tools. Additionally, or alternatively, provided herein are new and novel systems, apparatuses, and techniques for metering and delivering precursor in a controlled and precise way to multiple processing stations or tools. Such systems, apparatuses, and techniques may be considered separate from precursor vaporization at or near the processing stations or tools. Some systems, apparatuses, and techniques described herein have an ampoule that vaporizes a precursor contained therein and flow an inert gas into the ampoule to transport the vaporized precursor, i.e., precursor vapor, downstream to where the semiconductor processing tool is located. This type of precursor delivery may be considered “flow over vapor” of “FOV”. Some other systems, apparatuses, and techniques described herein have an ampoule that vaporizes a precursor contained therein and this precursor vapor is pressurized in a headspace of the ampoule and flows downstream to a volume, such as a charge volume or pressure vessel, with a pressure lower than the ampoule pressure. This type of precursor delivery does not flow an inert gas into the ampoule, and it may be considered “vapor draw” or “VD”.Systems for Semiconductor Processing

[0082] According to various embodiments, systems and techniques herein vaporize the precursor with an ampoule and dilute the precursor vapor with an inert gas to create a mixture which thereby enables the mixture to be held at lower temperatures throughout the precursor delivery system as compared to the precursor vapor alone. For example, mixing the inert gas and the precursor vapor together dilutes the precursor vapor which, assuming the pressure remains constant, lowers the partial pressure of the precursor vapor. Reducing the partial pressure of the precursor vapor lowers the dew point, or condensation point, of the precursor vapor which allows the mixture to be heated to a lower temperature than the precursor vapor alone. For instance, a precursor vapor may have a dew point below 150 °C at a particular pressure which requires the precursor delivery system to hold that vapor above 150 °C. This can be challenging to heat all the elements of a delivery system above 150 °C, especially if that delivery is over long distances, such as from a sub-fab location to a fab floor location at a processing tool. Such high temperatures can damage parts and require use of expensive parts that are able to withstand these temperatures. Such high temperatures can also cause the precursor vapor to breakdown or exhibit undesirable characteristics. If the precursor vapor is mixed with an inert gas to form a mixture, then the partial pressure of the precursor vapor canbe decreased and the dew point of the precursor vapor in the mixture may be lower than 150 °C, such as 120 °C. In other words, because vapor pressure is a function of the ampoule temperature, if the temperature of the ampoule is lowered, then the partial pressure and temperature of the line exiting the ampoule can also be lowered. Adding inert gas to the ampoule increases the vapor production at a given temperature and provides the pressure to move the mixture through the system. The delivery system can advantageously use lower temperatures and different parts using the mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor than with the precursor vapor alone, and the precursor vapor may retain its desirable characteristics.

[0083] In some embodiments, the systems may have an FOV ampoule that flows the inert gas into the ampoule to mix with the precursor vapor in the ampoule headspace to form a mixture in the ampoule. In some such systems, it may be advantageous to maintain the pressure in the ampoule at a constant pressure, or within a particular pressure range, by using pressure flow control (“PFC”) of the ampoule. In some instances, PFC is able to control the pressure within the ampoule by controlling the flow of inert gas flow into the ampoule such that the pressure within the ampoule remains constant. This control may be achieved, for example, by using a flow control valve that can open varying amounts to precisely allow or prevent the flow of inert gas into the ampoule. As provided above, maintaining the pressure of the ampoule at a relatively constant, known pressure allows the partial pressure of the precursor vapor to be reduced and enables the mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas to be heated to a lower temperature than the precursor vapor alone. In some implementations, additional inert gas may be added to the mixture downstream of the ampoule to further dilute the mixture and further lower the partial pressure of the precursor vapor which allows for the further-diluted mixture to be heated to an even lower temperature.

[0084] Figure 1 depicts an example precursor delivery system according to various implementations. The precursor delivery system 100, which may also be referred to herein as the system 100, includes an ampoule 102 that is configured to have a precursor 104 (shown with cross-hatching) and heat that precursor 104 to vaporize it and create a precursor vapor in the headspace 106 of the ampoule 102. The ampoule includes an inlet 108 and an outlet 110. The inlet 108 is configured to receive inert gas from an inert gas source 112. The inert gas and precursor vapor in the headspace of the ampoule form a mixture that is flowed out of the outlet 110. In some implementations, like in Figure 1, the pressure in the ampoule 102 may be maintained or controlled by pressure flow control which may include a controller and / or flow control valve 114, which in some implementations may be a throttle valve. As the mixture ofinert gas and precursor vapor flows out of the outlet 110, the pressure flow control of the ampoule flows inert gas into the ampoule 102 through the inlet 108 to maintain the pressure in the ampoule 102. The ampoule also includes an inlet valve 116 configured to control flow of the inert gas into the ampoule and an outlet valve 118 configured to control flow out of the outlet 110, as well as bypass valve 120 through which the inert gas can flow downstream of the ampoule 102 without flowing through the ampoule 102.

[0085] The ampoule 102 is located in one location of a fabrication facility, such as a “sub-fab,” that is different than the location of the semiconductor processing tool, and the processing modules, to where the mixture is flowed. For example, the semiconductor processing tool may be located on a fabrication floor that is a different level in the facility than where the ampoule is located. The different locations of the ampoule and semiconductor processing tool / processing modules is exemplified by the vertical dashed line; this dashed line is used throughout the Figures.

[0086] The mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas is configured to flow out of the outlet 110 and towards a plurality of flow paths configured to flow the mixture to a plurality of processing modules and into a process volume of each processing module. These flow paths span from the location of the ampoule, e.g., in the sub-fab, to the separate location of the processing tools and / or modules, e.g., the fab floor. The system 100 of Figure 1 includes four flow paths 122A- D that each span from the location of the ampoule on the left side of the dashed dividing line, e.g., the sub-fab, to a corresponding processing module 124A-D on the right side of the dashed dividing line, e.g., on the fab floor. Each flow path 122A-D is configured to flow the mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas which includes having delivery conduits and other flow elements to contain and direct the flow of mixture to the corresponding processing module 124A-D. Each flow path is also configured to maintain the mixture at a temperature between about 100 °C and 150 °C which may include having heating elements that heat the delivery conduits of the flow path and / or thermal insulation around the delivery conduits. Each flow path also has a high-temperature mass flow controller located at or near the corresponding processing module 124A-D that is configured to control the flow of the mixture along the flow path. For clarity in Figure 1, the details of only one processing module 124A is shown and processing modules 124B-D may be considered to have the features and functions as processing module 124A. Further, although four flow paths and four processing modules are shown, the number of flow paths and processing modules may vary such that there are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10 processing modules and corresponding flow paths. This may be the case forthe modules of all systems described herein.

[0087] Some features of the processing module 124A are encompassed by the dotted rectangle and they include a high-temperature mass flow controller (“HT MFC”) 126 and a processing chamber 128 having a process volume configured to hold a substrate for processing in the process volume. The high-temperature mass flow controller 126 is a mass flow controller configured to operate at elevated temperatures, such as between 100 °C and 150 °C, and thereby control the flow of the mixture to the chamber 128. In some embodiments, like illustrated in Figure 1, the flow path 122A also includes an inert gas insert point down 130 downstream of the ampoule and near the high-temperature mass flow controller 126. Diluting the mixture a second time downstream of the ampoule lowers the partial pressure of the precursor vapor even further and allows a further, or second, lower temperature to be used for the mixture downstream of the inert gas insertion point. The inert gas is delivered to the inert gas insertion point 130 via inert gas delivery conduit 132 from an inert gas source and such inert gas flow is controlled by a flow control element 134. The additional inert gas flow to the inert gas insertion point 130 is illustrated by arrows 150 and the flow of mixture along the flow path 122A is illustrated by arrows 148.

[0088] In some implementations, the mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas downstream of the inert gas insertion point 130 can be heated to a lower temperature than the mixture upstream of the inert gas insertion point 130. Because the mixture downstream of this point 130 has more inert gas, the partial pressure of the precursor vapor is lower which causes its dew point to be lower and enables a lower heating temperature to keep it in vapor phase. The temperature of the components downstream of the inert gas insertion point 130, such as the high-temperature mass flow controller 126, may therefore be lower than components upstream of this point 130. In some instances, a portion of the flow path 122A from the inert gas insertion point 130 to a location in the sub-fab may be located at a first temperature and a second portion downstream of the inert gas insertion point 130 may be held at a second temperature lower than the first temperature. In some instances, the portion of the flow path 122A upstream of the inert gas insertion point 130 may be heated to a temperature between 120 °C and 145 °C and the portion of the flow path 122A downstream of the inert gas insertion point 130 may be heated to a temperature between about 100 °C and 130 °C. In some implementations, the portions of the flow path 122A upstream and downstream of the inert gas insertion point 130 may be heated to a temperature between 100 °C and 115 °C.

[0089] In some implementations, the flow control element 134 may be a mass flow controllerfluidically connected to the gas delivery conduit 132 and the inert gas insertion point 130, and configured to configured to flow the inert gas to the first flow path 122A. In some implementations, the flow control element 134 may be a flow orifice or flow restrictor configured to choke or restrict the inert gas flow into the first flow path 122A. A flow control valve 136 is configured to control the flow of inert gas to the gas insertion point 130.

[0090] The system 100 may also have an exhaust 138 configured to pump out various aspects of the system 100, which may be pumped to vacuum. The system 100 may have a plurality of divert conduits fluidically connected to the exhaust 138 and each divert conduit may be fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at a divert point. In Figure 1, divert conduit 140 is fluidically connected to the flow path 122A at divert point 142 and fluidically connected to the exhaust 138. The divert point 142 is upstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller 126 and upstream of the inert gas insertion point 130. The divert valve 144 is fluidically interposed along the divert conduit 140 and configured to control the flow of the mixture to the exhaust 138. As shown in Figure 1, when the divert valve 144 is closed (as indicated by the dark shading) and the control valve 146 fluidically interposed along the flow path 122A is open (as indicated by no shading), the mixture continues to flow along the flow path 122A to the high-temperature mass flow controller 126 and the chamber 128. As illustrated in Figure 2, which depicts the system of Figure 1 in another valve configuration according to various embodiments, when the divert valve 144 is open (as indicated by no shading) and the control valve 146 is closed (as indicated by the dark shading), the mixture flows to the divert conduit 140.

[0091] As illustrated by Figures 1 and 2, in some embodiments the high-temperature mass flow controller 126 may remain on or open and the gases flowed through the high-temperature mass flow controller 126 may be cycled. For example, in Figure 1 while the high-temperature mass flow controller 126 remains on or open, the mixture of inert gas an precursor vapor may be flowed through the high-temperature mass flow controller 126, such as during a dose step of a processing cycle. When dosing is no longer desired, such as after the dose step, the flow of the mixture through the high-temperature mass flow controller 126 may be stopped and the flow of inert gas may continue through the high-temperature mass flow controller 126, as illustrated in Figure 2. These steps can be repeated such that the gases flowed through the high- temperature mass flow controller 126 can be cycled between, for example, the mixture and the inert gas. The high-temperature mass flow controller 126 can therefore be in an open or on position and gases can therefore be flowed constantly through the high-temperature mass flowcontroller 126.

[0092] In some embodiments, inert gas flowed from 112 may be flowed through valve 120, and not through the ampoule by closing valves 116 and 118, and into the flow paths, such as flow path 122A, and then flowed to the exhaust 138. This alternative flow is shown in Figure 2A which depicts the system of Figure 1 in yet another valve configuration according to various embodiments. Valve 120 is open, valves 116 and 118 are closed, valve 146 is closed, and valve 144 is open and the inert gas flows from 112 to the exhaust 138. In some embodiments, valves 144 and 146 may be closed while valve 136 is open in order to stop flow of the mixture through the flow path 122A and to flow the inert gas through the high-temperature mass flow controller 126.

[0093] In some instances, using the divert conduit and inert gas insertion point upstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller may provide various advantages. For example, some high-temperature mass flow controllers require constant flow to operate properly and some have slow operating response times. When using some such high-temperature mass flow controller, it may be advantageous to leave the HT MFC constantly open and cycle the gases through the HT MCF using fast response valves, such as valves 146, 136, and 144. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, when it is desired to flow the mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas to the process chamber 128, the valve configurations may be as shown in Figure 1 with valves 146 and 136 open and divert valve 144 closed. Such flow may be during a dose step. Once the desired amount of mixture of flowed through the HT MFC 126 to the chamber 128, valve 146 may close and divert valve 144 and valve 136 may be open as shown in Figure 2. This diverts the mixture to the exhaust 138 and still flows the required gas flow to the HT MFC 126. This valve cycling may provide for faster and more precise flow control than cycling the HT MFC 126 on and off which can be slow and imprecise.

[0094] Referring back to Figure 1, in some embodiments, each flow path may include an inert gas insertion point 152 downstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller 126. Similar to above, the inert gas may be flowed to the flow path 122A via mass flow controller or orifice 153 and controlled by valve 155. The additional inert gas may further dilute the mixture in the flow path 122A. This additional dilution lowers the partial pressure of the precursor vapor and enables a lower heating temperature of the flow path 122A downstream of this insertion point 152. In some implementations, the system 100 may have two inert gas insertion points 130 and 152, while in other implementations the system 100 may only have one of these gas insertion points, such as only inert gas insertion point 130 or only inert gas insertion point 152.

[0095] As stated above, processing modules 124B-D are configured the same as processing module 124A such that they all include the same features of module 124A.

[0096] In some other implementations, the inert gas may be flowed into the ampoule via a mass flow controller instead of using pressure flow control. In such implementations, the flow control valve 114 may instead be a mass flow controller that is configured to flow a known mass flow of inert gas into the ampoule. Some implementations may also utilize mass flow controllers along each flow path to control flow of the mixture to each process module. Figure 3 depicts system 300 that is similar to system 100 except for some noted differences. Here, element 314 may be a mass flow controller configured to flow inert gas into the ampoule 102. The total demand of mixture flow by all the fluidically connected process modules 124A-D can be provided by the mass flow controller 314. For example, if the flow rate of all the process modules is a total flow of Fl, the mass flow controller 314 is configured to provide the total flow Fl to the ampoule 102. Also, each flow path 322A-D includes a mass flow controller 354A-D configured to control the flow of the mixture along the corresponding flow path. The mass flow controllers 354A-D may be positioned on the sub-fab portion of the system. The mass flow controllers 354A-D may also be configured to provide the demanded mixture downstream to the corresponding process chambers in the modules 124A-D.

[0097] By utilizing a mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor that allows for lower temperatures, the components of the systems 100 and 300 may be different than those using only precursor vapor. For example, stainless steel is undesirable to use above 140 °C because its molecular iron that desorbs from the tubing and contaminate substrates at the molecular level and it can corrode at faster rates. However, stainless steel and stainless steel alloys are desirable under temperatures of 140 °C and using the above systems enables use of these materials. In another example, some alloys are able to withstand temperature above 140 °C, but they are much more expensive and can be difficult to work with.

[0098] In some implementations, a mole fraction controller with an FOV ampoule may be provided. Figure 4 depicts an example precursor delivery system according to various implementations. The ampoule 402 here includes the precursor 404 and is configured to heat the precursor 404 and create precursor vapor in the headspace 406. The ampoule 402 also includes a temperature controller 411 configured to control the heater in the ampoule 402, a pressure sensor 413 configured to measure the pressure in the ampoule, and a temperature sensor 415 configured to measure the temperature in the ampoule 402. Upstream of the ampoule 402 is an adjustable valve 417 fluidically connected to the inert gas source 412 andconfigured to be adjusted to control the flow through the valve 417 towards the ampoule 402. Downstream of the valve 417 and upstream of the ampoule 402 is a mass flow meter 419 configured to measure the mass flow of inert gas to the ampoule 402.

[0099] Downstream of the ampoule is an orifice 421, such as a calibrated orifice or temperature controller orifice, configured to restrict the flow of the mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas out of the ampoule 402. In some implementations, a pressure sensor 423 may be downstream of the orifice 421. A control valve 425 is also downstream of the ampoule 402 and a reserve volume 427 is downstream of the valve 425 which is configured to control the flow of the mixture from the ampoule 402 to the reserve volume 427. The reserve volume 427 is relatively large compared to the other volumes of the system 400, such as an order of magnitude larger. In some implementations, the reserve volume 427 may be larger than 0.5 liters, 1 liter, 2 liters, 3 liters, 4 liters, 5 liters, 7 liters, 8 liters, 9 liters, 10 liters, 12 liters, or 14 liters. By using a relatively large reserve volume 427, flow and pressure variations can be reduced, and the flow of mixture from the reserve volume 427 to flow paths 422A-D and processing modules 424A- D can be decoupled from the relatively slow heating and vapor generation time of the ampoule thereby increasing the response time for delivering the mixture downstream to the modules. The reserve volume 427 may also have a pressure sensor 429 and temperature sensor 431 configured to measure the pressure and temperature, respectively, of the reserve volume 427.

[0100] Similar to described herein, a plurality of flow paths 422A-D fluidically connected to corresponding processing modules 424A-D are fluidically connected to the reserve volume 427. The mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas is configured to flow from the reserve volume 427 to the processing modules 424A-D through the corresponding flow paths 422A-D. Each flow path 422A-D may have a corresponding mass flow meter 426A-D configured to control the flow of the mixture on the flow path 422A-D. In some instances, the mass flow meters 426 A-D may be high-temperature mass flow meters.

[0101] System 400 also includes a controller 435, which may be considered a mole fraction controller, configured to receive measurements and data from elements in the system and to control aspects of the system to cause a known mole fraction of the mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor to flow out of the ampoule and to the reserve volume 427. The mole fraction may be defined as one constituent to the total which adds up to one. For example, the mole fraction of the precursor vapor may be 0.1 and the mole fraction of the inert gas may be 0.9. In some implementations, the mole fraction controller 435 receives pressure data from the ampoule pressure sensor 413, temperature data from the ampoule temperature sensor 415, anddata from the mass flow meter 419. Using the received data together with the known information of the orifice 421 and desired mole fraction set point, the mole fraction controller 435 configured to determine the inert gas flow through the valve 417 into the ampoule 402 in order to achieve the desired mole fraction set point. The mole fraction controller 435 is also configured to control the valve 417 in order to flow the inert gas into the ampoule 402.

[0102] The valve 425 downstream of the orifice 421 can also be controlled to flow the mixture into the reserve volume 427. The mole fraction controller 435 is configured to control the valve 425 in order to replenish the reserve volume 427 and maintain the reserve volume at a constant pressure, or within a pressure range. In some embodiments, the mole fraction controller 435 is configured to receive temperature and pressure signals from the pressure sensor 429 and the temperature sensor 431 of the reserve volume 427. Based on the flow of mixture to the reserve volume 427 and data, the mole fraction controller 435 is configured to control the valves 427 and 417 in order to produce the desired mole fraction of mixture flowing out of the ampoule 402 and into the reserve volume 427. In some embodiments, the operation of valve 425 with respect to the reserve volume 427 may be considered pressure flow control of the reserve volume 427.

[0103] In some implementations, the mole fraction controller 435 is also configured to control the heater 411 of the ampoule to increase the vaporization rate of the ampoule 402. Based on the temperature and pressure of the ampoule 402, the mole fraction controller 435 can further control the valve 417 and the heater 411 to produce the desired mole fraction flowing out of the ampoule 402.

[0104] In some embodiments, a vapor draw ampoule may be used instead of an FOV ampoule. In these embodiments, inert gas is not flowed into the ampoule. As discussed below, precursor vapor without any inert gas is flowed out of the ampoule to a pressure-controlled charge volume and then flowed to a mixture volume where inert gas is also flowed. The precursor vapor and the inert gas mix in the mixture volume to create a mixture which is then flowed downstream along a plurality of flow paths to corresponding processing modules with a process chamber having a process volume for processing a substrate.

[0105] Figure 5 depicts another precursor delivery system according to various embodiments. Here, the ampoule 502 is a vapor draw ampoule, not an FOV ampoule, in which the ampoule 502 heats the solid precursor 504 in the ampoule 502 to vaporize it and create precursor vapor in the headspace 506. The ampoule 502 becomes pressurized with the precursor vapor, and the pure precursor vapor flows out of the ampoule outlet 510 and along a precursor vapor flowpath 560 to a mixture volume 562. The precursor vapor flow path 560 fluidically connects the outlet 510 to the mixture volume 562 and has a first control valve 564 downstream of the outlet 510, a pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 downstream of the first control valve 564, a resistive flow element 568 downstream of the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566, and a second control valve 570 downstream of the resistive flow element downstream 568.

[0106] The pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 is configured to be pressurized to a pressure lower than the ampoule 502 and is configured to be maintained at a constant pressure or within a pressure range. The pressure control may be similar to the PFC described above in which the valve 564 is opened to varying degrees, or closed, in order to flow precursor vapor into the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 and maintain the desired pressure in the pressure- controlled vapor volume 566 as precursor vapor flows out of the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566. In some implementations, the control valve 564 may be a throttle valve. In some other implementations, a controller 572 may be provided that detects the pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 and causes the control valve 564 to open or close to flow the precursor vapor into the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 and control the pressure therein. The resistive flow element 568 may be an orifice that is configured to restrict, but allow, flow from the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 to the second control valve 570. The second control valve 570 is configured to be opened or closed to flow the precursor vapor into the mixing volume 562.

[0107] The system 500 also includes an inert gas flow path 574 configured to flow inert gas from an inert gas source 512 to the mixture volume 562. In the depicted embodiment, the inert gas flow path 574 has a control valve 576 configured to control the flow of the inert gas into the mixture volume 562. In some embodiments, like also shown in Figure 5, the inert gas flow path 574 also has another control valve 578 upstream of a pressure-controlled inert gas volume 580 which is upstream from a resistive flow element 582 which is upstream from the control valve 576.

[0108] The pressure-controlled inert gas volume 580 is configured to be pressurized at a constant pressure or within a pressure range. The pressure control may be similar to the PFC described above in which the valve 578 is opened to varying degrees, or closed, in order to flow inert gas into the pressure-controlled inert gas volume 580 and maintain the desired pressure therein as inert gas flows out of the pressure-controlled inert gas volume 580 into the mixture volume 562. In some implementations, the control valve 578 may be a throttle valve. In some other implementations, a controller 584 may be provided that detects the pressure inthe pressure-controlled inert gas volume 580 and causes the control valve 578 to open or close to flow the inert gas into the pressure-controlled inert gas volume 580 and control the pressure therein. Both the pressure-controlled inert gas volume 580 and the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 may each have a pressure sensor, respectively, that provides a pressure signal of each volume to the respective controller. For example, pressure-controlled inert gas volume 580 may have a pressure sensor that detects or measures the pressure therein and sends that pressure signal to the controller 584 for control of the control valve 578. Similarly, pressure- controlled vapor volume 566 may have a pressure sensor that detects or measures the pressure therein and sends that pressure signal to the controller 572 for control of the control valve 564.

[0109] The system 500 also includes a plurality of flow paths 522A-D that fluidically connect the mixture volume 560 to a corresponding processing module 524A-D. In some embodiments, like shown in Figure 5, each flow path may have a corresponding flow control element 586A- D that is configured to control the flow of the mixture to the corresponding module. The flow control elements 584A-D may be, in some instance, mass flow controllers or high-temperature mass flow controllers. The mixture volume 560 is relatively large compared to the other volumes of the system 500, such as an order of magnitude larger. In some implementations, the reserve volume 560 may be larger than 0.5 liters, 1 liter, 2 liters, 3 liters, 4 liters, 5 liters, 7 liters, 8 liters, 9 liters, 10 liters, 12 liters, or 14 liters. By using a relatively large mixture volume 560, flow and pressure variations can be reduced, and the flow of mixture from the mixture volume 560 to flow paths 522A-D and processing modules 524A-D can be decoupled from the relatively slow heating and vapor generation time of the ampoule thereby increasing the response time for delivering the mixture downstream to the modules.

[0110] The configurations of the inert gas flow path 574 and the precursor flow path 560 of system 500 provide various advantages. For example, for each flow path, the flow into the mixture volume 562 is a function of the pressure of the pressure-controlled volume, the resistance of the resistive flow element, and the length of time that the control valve downstream of the resistive flow element is opened. For the inert gas flow path 574, the flow of inert gas into the mixture volume 562 is a function of the pressure Pi of the pressure- controlled inert gas volume 580, the resistance Ri of the resistive flow element 582, and the length of time Ti that the control valve 576 is open. For the precursor vapor flow path 560, the flow of precursor vapor into the mixture volume 562 is a function of the pressure Pvof the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566, the resistance Rvof the resistive flow element 568, and the length of time Tvthat the control valve 570 is open. The mixture ratio of the inert gas andthe precursor volume in the mixture volume 562 can be defined by varying one or more of pressure Pi, pressure Pv, resistance Ri, resistance Rv, time Ti, and Tv. For example, pressures Pi and Pvand resistances Ri and Rvcan be set to deliver a desired ratio of inert gas to precursor vapor for equal times Ti, and Tvthat the valves 576 and 570 are opened. As a further example, pressures Pi and Pvand resistances Ri and Rvcan be set to deliver a 10:1 ratio of inert gas to precursor vapor and the valves 576 and 570 are opened for the same amount of time and at the same time.

[0111] By flowing known ratios of inert gas and precursor vapor into the mixture volume, the resulting mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor within the mixture volume remains at that ratio. The mixture flowing out of the mixture volume to the fluidically connected process modules therefore may have the desired, known ratio. In some embodiments, the resistive flow elements 568 and 582 may be flow orifices. In some implementations, the resistive flow element 568 is configured to restrict more flow than the resistive flow element 582.

[0112] The operations of the control valves 576 and 570 may vary. In some implementations, the control valves 576 and 570 may open at the same time, or substantially same time (e.g., within 1% or 5% of each other), and may stay open for the same amount of time or substantially same time (e.g., within 1% or 5% of each other). In some other embodiments, control valve 576 and / or control valve 570 may be pulsed over a period of time to deliver the desired ratio of inert gas and precursor vapor to the mixture volume 562. For example, the control valve 576 may be pulsed ten times with each pulse lasting one unit of time and the control valve 570 may be pulsed one time for one unit of time, which can result in a 10: 1 ratio of inert gas to precursor vapor in the mixture volume 562. In some implementations, the control valves 576 and 570 may open for different amounts of time. For instance, the control valve 576 may be opened for a first time period, e.g., that lasts for ten units of time, and the control valve 570 may be open for a second time period shorter than the first time period, e.g., one unit of time, which can again result in a 10:1 ratio of inert gas to precursor vapor in the mixture volume 562. In some instances, the time periods for which the control valves 576 and 570 are both open may overlap with each other.

[0113] In some embodiments, the mixture volume 562 is configured to be pressurized at a constant pressure or within a pressure range. The pressure control may be similar to the PFC described above in which the valves 570 and 576 are opened to varying degrees, or closed, in order to flow inert gas into the mixture volume 562 and maintain the desired pressure therein as mixture flows out to the flow paths 522A-D. In some other implementations, a controller588 may be provided that detects the pressure in the mixture volume 562 and causes the control valves 570 and 576 to open or close to flow the inert gas and precursor vapor into the mixture volume 562 and control the pressure therein. Maintaining a constant pressure in the mixture volume 562 assists with delivering the known ratio of the mixture downstream to the process modules 524A-D and lowering the partial pressure of the precursor vapor such that the flow paths 522A-D can operate at lower temperatures than with pure precursor vapor, like described above.

[0114] Some implementations of the precursor delivery system may merge the inert gas flow path and the precursor vapor flow path at a single control valve upstream of the mixture volume and downstream of the resistive flow elements. Figure 6 depicts yet another precursor delivery system according to various embodiments. Figure 6 is similar to Figure 5 except for noted differences. Here, the system 600 includes a single control valve 677 where both the inert gas flow path and the precursor vapor flow path meet and merge. Downstream of control valve 677, the inert gas flow path and the precursor vapor flow path flow through a single delivery conduit 679 to the mixture volume 562. By using the single control valve 677 to simultaneously control inert gas flow and precursor vapor flow, the pressures Pi and Pvand resistances Ri and Rvcan be set to deliver a desired ratio of inert gas to precursor vapor with the operation of only a single valve and without potential valve timing variability. The single control valve 677 may be opened for a particular time period which concurrently flows the inert gas and the precursor vapor at the desired ratio into the mixture volume 562.

[0115] The mixture volume 562 of system 600 is configured similar to that of Figure 500. Here, the mixture volume 562 is configured to be pressurized at a constant pressure or within a pressure range and the pressure control may be similar to the PFC described above in which the valve 577 is opened to varying degrees, or closed, in order to flow both the inert gas and the precursor vapor into the mixture volume 562 and maintain the desired pressure therein as mixture flows out to the flow paths 522A-D. The controller 588 may again be provided that detects the pressure in the mixture volume 562 and causes the control valve 577 to open or close to flow the inert gas and precursor vapor into the mixture volume 562 and control the pressure therein.

[0116] In some embodiments, the inert gas flow path may have a mass flow controller and not a pressure-controller inert gas volume. Figure 7 depicts another precursor delivery system according to various embodiments. System 700 of Figure 7 is similar to system 500 of Figure 5 with some noted differences. Here in Figure 7, the inert gas flow path 774 has a mass flowcontroller 790 that is fluidically interposed along the inert gas flow path 774 and configured to the control the flow of inert gas along the inert gas flow path 774 including to control valve 576. The control valve 578 is also configured to control the flow of inert gas to the mass flow controller 790.

[0117] In some implementations, the inert gas may be flowed from the mass flow controller 790 to the control valve 576 before the valve 576 is opened in order to charge the line between the mass flow controller and the valve 576. This may advantageously provide inert gas right at the valve 576 such that the inert gas can flow into the mixture volume with minimal delay. In some embodiments, the valves 576 and 570 of system 700 may be operated in a manner similar to valves 576 and 570 of system 500. For example, the valves 576 and 570 may be operated for the same duration of time, open at the same time, and close at the same time. In some other embodiments, valve 576 may be opened longer than valve 570, and valves 576 and 570 may be pulsed as described above in order to provide the desired ratio of precursor vapor and inert gas into the mixture volume 562. The mixture volume 562 of system 700 may be a pressure- controlled volume as described above.

[0118] The system 700 also includes a divert conduit fluidically connected to the exhaust 738 and to the inert gas flow path 774 at divert point 792. A divert valve 794 is fluidically connected along the divert conduit and configured to control flow of the inert gas to the exhaust 738. When the divert valve 794 is closed and the valve 576 is open, the inert gas can flow to the mixture volume 562. When the divert valve 794 is open and the valve 576 is closed, the inert gas can flow to the exhaust 738. In some implementations, this divert may be advantageous to provide a constant flow through the mass flow controller 790 while the inert gas is not flowing to the mixture volume 562.

[0119] In some implementations, the system may have one or more additional mixing volumes. Figure 8 depicts yet another precursor delivery system according to various implementations. Figure 8 may be the same as Figure 5 and there are noted differences. Here in Figure 8, the inert gas flow path and the precursor vapor flow path terminate at a mixture point 895 upstream of the mixture volume 562 and mix in a delivery conduit 896 before the mixture volume. The remainder of system 800 may be the same as the Figure 5. System 700 may also use this upstream mixing. Figure 9 depicts another precursor delivery system according to various implementations. Figure 9 may be the same as Figure 5 and there are noted differences. Here in Figure 9, a second mixture volume 963 is provided downstream of mixture volume 562. By flowing the mixture to the second mixture volume, additional mixing may occur which couldbe advantageous. System 700 may also use this downstream mixing. As also shown in Figure 9, the mixture flows from mixture volume 562 to the second mixture volume 963 through delivery conduit 996 where additional mixing of the mixture may occur.

[0120] In some embodiments, a precursor delivery system may include aspects of Figures 1-4 and 5-9, such as a vapor draw ampoule and one or more insertions of inert gas downstream of the vapor draw ampoule. Figure 11 yet another precursor delivery system according to various implementations. Here, the system 1100 the ampoule 1102 is a vapor draw ampoule as provided above such that it does not flow inert gas therein. The precursor 1104 is heated to create precursor vapor 1106 which pressurizes the ampoule 1102 and when valve 1118 is opened, the precursor vapor, without inert gas, flows to each flow path 1122A-D when the control valves 1119 for each flow path are opened. The precursor vapor can be flowed up to a control valve 1173. The line between the control valve 1173 and the ampoule 1102 can be charged by flowing the precursor vapor to the valve 1173 with the valve 1173 closed. Inert gas can be flowed into the flow path 1122A at an inert gas insertion point 1171 on the sub-fab side of the dashed line. The inert gas can be flowed by or through flow element 1134A, which may be the same as element 134 provided above, such as a mass flow controller or an flow orifice. Control valve 1177 can be opened to allow the flow of the inert gas 1175 to flow into the flow path 1122A through gas insertion point 1171. In flow path 1122A, upstream of gas insertion point 1171 is precursor vapor (arrows 1179) and downstream of the gas insertion point 1171 following the flow of inert gas into the flow path 1122A is the mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor, which is shown as arrows 1148.

[0121] Once the mixture reaches the module portion of the system 1100, the processing module 1124A may be the same as module 124A provided above, as indicated ty the use of the same reference numerals for this module 124A. For example, inert gas may be further provided by flow element 134 to gas insertion point 130 as provided above. Alternatively or additionally, the inert gas may be added to the mixture at gas insertion point 152 as provided above. Further, the divert line 140 may be provided and inert gas or the mixture may be flowed to the exhaust 138. Here, valve 1118 or 1173 may be closed while valve 1177 may be open with valve 146 closed and valve 144 open in order to flow inert gas to the exhaust, as shown in Figure 12 which depicts the system of Figure 11 in another configuration.

[0122] In some implementations, the flow paths 522A-D in systems 500 through 900 are all configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 125 °C and 145 °C, and ins some embodiments, they are all configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between100 °C and 130 °C. Each flow path 522A-D in systems 500 through 900 also may have delivery conduits that are made of stainless steel or a stainless steel alloy.

[0123] In some embodiments, the precursor may be a molybdenum or a mixture comprising molybdenum, such as MoO2C12 or MoC15, and the inert gas may be argon.Techniques for Semiconductor Processing

[0124] Various techniques are also provided to flow the mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor to the plurality of process modules. Some techniques may use the FOV ampoule provided in Figures 1 to 4. For example, a technique using the ampoule system of Figure 1 may include heating the precursor 104 in the ampoule 102 to create a precursor vapor in the ampoule 102, flowing the inert gas into the ampoule 102 and thereby creating a mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas and lowering the partial pressure of the precursor vapor, flowing the mixture downstream to a plurality of flow paths 122A-D that fluidically connected to a corresponding processing module 124A-D, flowing the mixture to a high-temperature mass flow controller, and flowing the mixture with the high-temperature mass flow controller to the processing module. The technique may also include maintaining a constant pressure, or pressure range, in the ampoule by pressure flow control of the ampoule which flows inert gas into the ampoule; in some instances this may include a throttle valve or a controller and pressure sensor that adjusts the valve 114 position.

[0125] Figure 13 depicts an example technique for semiconductor processing. Here in the example technique 1300, references are made to Figures 1-4. In block 1301, the precursor 104 is heated in the ampoule 102 to create a precursor vapor in the ampoule 102. In block 1303, inert gas is flowed into the ampoule 102 and thereby creates a mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas and lowers the partial pressure of the precursor vapor. In block 1305, the mixture is flowed downstream to a plurality of flow paths 122A-D that are fluidically connected to a corresponding processing module 124A-D. In block 1307, the mixture is flowed to a high- temperature mass flow controller and in block 1309, the high-temperature mass flow controller flows the mixture to the processing module. In optional block 1311, the technique may also include maintaining a constant pressure, or pressure range, in the ampoule by pressure flow control of the ampoule which flows inert gas into the ampoule, as provided herein.

[0126] In some embodiments, the technique may also include flowing the inert gas to the inert gas insertion point 130 while the mixture is flowing to the high-temperature mass flow controller and thereby diluting the mixture to a second dilution and reducing the partial pressure of the precursor vapor to a second partial pressure lower than the previous partial pressure. In 1some embodiments, the technique may also include flowing the inert gas to the second inert gas insertion point 152 while the mixture is flowing through the high-temperature mass flow controller and thereby diluting the mixture to a third dilution and reducing the partial pressure of the precursor vapor to a third partial pressure lower than the previous partial pressure. In some instances both downstream dilutions may occur and in others, only one may occur. The technique may also include diverting the flow of the mixture to the exhaust while concurrently flowing inert gas to the high-temperature mass flow controller as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

[0127] In some embodiments, the technique may instead use the mass flow controller 314 of Figure 3 and maintain a constant pressure, or pressure range, in the ampoule by flowing the inert gas into the ampoule to replenish mixture flowed out of the ampoule 102.

[0128] The techniques may also be configured to maintain the temperatures of one or more portions of the flow paths as provided herein, including between 100 °C and 145 °C, between 125 °C and 145 °C, between 100 °C and 130 °C.

[0129] Other techniques may use the vapor draw ampoule of Figures 5 through 9. In one technique using system 500, the technique may include heating the ampoule 502 to vaporize the precursor in the headspace 506 of the ampoule 502, without flowing any inert gas into the ampoule, and generating a pressure of precursor vapor in the ampoule 502, and flowing the precursor vapor to the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 which has a pressure lower than the ampoule pressure, and flowing the precursor vapor from the pressure-controlled volume 566 through the resistive flow element 568 to the valve 570. The technique may also include flowing the inert gas to the pressure-controlled inert volume 580, through the resistive flow element 582 and to the valve 576. In some implementations, the flowing the precursor vapor and the inert gas may be concurrent or at least overlapping with each other. In some embodiments, the technique may open both the valves 576 and 570 at the same time and for the same amount of time to flow the precursor vapor and the inert gas into the mixture volume 562. The resistance of the resistive flow elements 582 and 568, the pressures of the volumes 580 and 566, and the time of the valves opening 576 and 570 may be configured to flow the desired ratios of precursor vapor and inert gas into the mixture volume 527. For example, these elements may be configured to cause a higher ratio of inert gas than precursor vapor to flow into the mixture volume 562. This may include, for instance, a ratio of at least 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1, 7:1, 8:1, 9:1, 10:1, 12:1, 15:1, 20:1, 25:1, 30:1, 50:1, 75:1, 100:1, or 150:1 of inert gas to precursor vapor.

[0130] When using the system of 700, some techniques may operate the mass flow controller790 and the control valve 576 to flow the desired amount of inert gas into the mixture volume 562.

[0131] Figure 14 depicts another example technique for semiconductor processing. Here in the example technique 1400, references are made to Figure 5. In block 1401, the ampoule 502 is heated to vaporize the precursor in the headspace 506 of the ampoule 502, without flowing any inert gas into the ampoule, and generating a pressure of precursor vapor in the ampoule 502. In block 1403, the precursor vapor is flowed to the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 which has a pressure lower than the ampoule pressure. In block 1405 the precursor vapor is flowed from the pressure-controlled vapor volume 566 through the resistive flow element 568 to a first valve, such as valve 570. In block 1407, the precursor vapor is flowed from the valve 570 into the mixture volume 562. In some implementations, blocks 1403 and 1405 may occur at the same time or overlap with each other.

[0132] In block 1409, inert gas is flowed to the pressure-controlled inert volume 580, which may be through the resistive flow element 582. In block 1411, the inert gas is flowed to a second valve, such as valve 576. In block 1413, the inert gas is flowed from the valve 576 to the mixture volume 562. In some implementations, blocks 1409 and 1411 may occur at the same time or overlap with each other. Similarly, in some implementations, the flowing of the precursor vapor to the mixture volume and the inert gas to the mixture volume may be concurrent or at least overlapping with each other. This may include performing blocks 1407 and 1413 at the same time, starting and stopping the performance of blocks 1407 and 1413 at the same times, starting one block before the other and having overlapping performance of the blocks 1407 and 1413, stopping one of blocks before the other, or a combination thereof. In block 1415 a mixture of the precursor vapor and inert gas is flowed from the mixture volume to a plurality of flow paths and process modules fluidically connected to the mixture volume. Multi-station Processing Tool

[0133] Figure 10 schematically illustrates a multi-station processing tool according to some embodiments.

[0134] In some implementations, multi-station processing tool 1000 can include an inbound load lock 1003 and an outbound load lock 1005, either or both of which may include a plasma source and / or an ultraviolet (UV) source. Robot 1007, at atmospheric pressure, is configured to move wafers from a cassette loaded through pod 1009 into inbound load lock 1003 via an atmospheric port 1011. Wafer 1007 is placed by robot 1007 on pedestal 1013 in inbound load lock 1003, atmospheric port 1011 is closed, and inbound load lock 1003 is pumped down. Ininstances in which inbound load lock 1003 includes a remote plasma source, wafer 1007 may be exposed to a remote plasma treatment in inbound load lock 1003 prior to being introduced into processing chamber 1015. Further, wafer 1007 may be heated in inbound load lock 1003 to, for example, remove moisture and / or adsorbed gases. Next, chamber transport port 1017 to processing chamber 1015 is opened, and another robot 1019 places wafer 1007 into the reactor on a pedestal of a first station shown in the reactor for processing. While the implementation depicted in FIG. 10 includes load locks, it will be appreciated that, in some implementations, direct entry of wafer 1007 into a processing station may be provided.

[0135] As seen in FIG. 10, processing chamber 1015 includes four process stations, numbered 1 to 4. Each process station may be considered a process module provided above, such as modules 124A-D, 424A-D, and 524A-D. Each station has a temperature-controlled pedestal (such as temperature-controlled pedestal 1021 of station 1), and gas line inlets, one or more of which may include a corresponding flow adjuster (such as flow adjuster 151) configured to match (or substantially match) flow conditions (e.g., flow conductance, flow velocity, etc.) to the gas line inlets. It will be appreciated that, in some cases, each process station may have different or multiple purposes. For example, in some embodiments, 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 processing chamber 1015 shown as including four stations, embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, processing chamber 1015 may have any suitable number of stations, such as five or more stations, or three or less stations.

[0136] As previously mentioned, multi- station processing tool 1000 may include a wafer handling system (e.g., robot 1019 including spider forks 1001) for transferring and / or positioning wafers within processing chamber 1015. In some embodiments, 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 1000 may include (or otherwise be coupled to) a system controller 1023 employed to control process conditions and hardware states of multi-station processing tool 1000. System controller 1023 may include one or more memory devices 1025, one or more mass storage devices 1027, and one or more processors 1029. Each processor 1029 mayinclude a central processing unit (CPU) or computer, analog, and / or digital input / output connections, stepper motor controller boards, etc.

[0137] In some embodiments, system controller 1023 controls each of the activities of multistation processing tool 1000. For instance, system controller 1023 may execute system control software 1031 stored in mass storage device 1027, loaded into memory device 1025, and executed by processor 1029. Alternatively, control logic may be hard coded in system controller 1023. 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 1031 may include instructions for controlling the timing, mixture of gases, gas flow rates, flow conductance, 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 1000. Further, system control software 1031 may be configured in any suitable way. 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 1031 may be coded in any suitable computer readable programming language.

[0138] In some embodiments, system control software 1031 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 1027 and / or memory device 1025 associated with system controller 1023 may be employed in some embodiments. Examples of programs or sections of programs for this purpose include a substrate positioning program, a process gas control program, a pressure control program, a heater control program, a cooler control program, and a plasma control program.

[0139] A substrate positioning program may include program code for process tool components that are used to load and orientate wafer 1007 on pedestal 1021 and to control the spacing between wafer 1007 and other parts of multi-station processing tool 1000.

[0140] 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. Apressure 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 or the like.

[0141] A heater control program may include code for controlling current to one or more heating units used to heat a pedestal (e.g., pedestal 1021) and / or a showerhead of processing chamber 1015. 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 1007.

[0142] 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 1021) and / or a showerhead of processing chamber 1015, 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 1007.

[0143] 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 embodiments.

[0144] A pressure control program may include code for maintaining pressure in a reaction chamber in accordance with various embodiments.

[0145] In some embodiments, a user interface may be provided in association with system controller 1023. 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.

[0146] In some embodiments, parameters adjusted by system controller 1023 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.

[0147] Signals for monitoring the process may be provided by analog and / or digital input connections of system controller 1023 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 1000. 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.

[0148] System controller 1023 may provide program instructions for implementing one ormore of the above-described processes. The program instructions may control a variety of process 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 embodiments.

[0149] System controller 1023 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 embodiments. In some instances, machine-readable media containing instructions for controlling process operations in accordance with various embodiments may be coupled to system controller 1023.

[0150] In some embodiments, system controller 1023 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 1023, 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 1023 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.

[0151] Broadly speaking, system controller 1023 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 integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or one or more microprocessors, or microcontrollers that executeprogram instructions (e.g., software). Program instructions may be instructions communicated to system controller 1023 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 embodiments, 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.

[0152] System controller 1023, 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 1023 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 1023 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.

[0153] Without limitation, example systems may include a plasma etch chamber or module, a deposition 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.

[0154] As noted above, depending on the process step or steps to be performed by the tool, system controller 1023 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 Embodiments

[0155] Unless otherwise specified, the illustrated embodiments are to be understood as providing example features of varying detail of some embodiments. 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.

[0156] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing some embodiments 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 moreother 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.

[0157] 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 embodiment 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.

[0158] 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 “fluidically 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 “fluidically interposed,” if used, may be used to refer to a component, volume, plenum, hole, etc., that isfluidically 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 “fluidically interposed” component before reaching that other or another of those components, volumes, plenums, holes, etc.. For example, if a pump is fluidically 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 "fluidically adjacent," if used, refers to placement of a fluidic element relative to another fluidic element such that no potential structures fluidically 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 fluidically adjacent to the second valve, the second valve fluidically adjacent to both the first and third valves, and the third valve fluidically adjacent to the second valve.

[0159] 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.

[0160] 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, the use, 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.

[0161] 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.

[0162] 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.

[0163] 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 an amount 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.

[0164] 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 toonly 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.

[0165] Various embodiments are described herein with reference to sectional views, isometric views, perspective views, plan views, and / or exploded illustrations that are schematic depictions of idealized embodiments 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, embodiments 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.

[0166] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein 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.

[0167] As customary in the field, some embodiments 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 / orsoftware. 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 embodiments 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 embodiments may be physically combined into more complex blocks, units, and / or modules without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.

[0168] Although the foregoing embodiments 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 embodiments. Accordingly, embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not as restrictive, and embodiments are not to be limited to the details given herein.

[0169] It is to be further understood that the above disclosure, while focusing on a particular example implementation or implementations, is not limited to only the discussed example, but may also apply to similar variants and mechanisms as well, and such similar variants and mechanisms are also considered to be within the scope of this disclosure. For example, this disclosure includes at least the following numbered implementations.

[0170] Implementation 1: A precursor delivery system, comprising: an ampoule having an inlet and an outlet, and configured to: contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor, receive an inert gas through the inlet, and flow a first mixture of the inert gas and the precursor vapor out of the outlet; and a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the outlet of the ampoule and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules, wherein each flow path: is configured to flow the first mixture, is configured to maintain the first mixture at a temperature between 100 °C and150 °C, andhas a high-temperature mass flow controller configured to control flow of the first mixture along the flow path.

[0171] Implementation 2: The system of implementation 1, further comprising a plurality of inert gas delivery conduits, wherein each inert gas delivery conduit is fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at an inert gas insertion point of each flow path.

[0172] Implementation 3: The system of implementation 2, further comprising a plurality of inert gas mass flow controllers, wherein each inert gas mass flow controller: is fluidically connected to a corresponding inert gas delivery conduit, and configured to flow inert gas into the corresponding flow path.

[0173] Implementation 4: The system of implementation 2, further comprising a plurality of inert gas flow orifices, wherein each inert gas flow orifice: is fluidically connected to a corresponding inert gas delivery conduit, and configured to choke inert gas flow into the corresponding flow path.

[0174] Implementation 5: The system of implementation 2, further comprising: an exhaust; a plurality of divert conduits that are fluidically connected to the exhaust; and a plurality of divert valves, wherein: each divert conduit is fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at a divert point of the flow path, each divert valve is fluidically connected to a corresponding divert conduit and configured to control the flow of the mixture between the corresponding flow path and the exhaust, the divert point is upstream of the inert gas insertion point and the high- temperature mass flow controller, the inert gas insertion point is upstream of the high-temperature mas flow controller, and when one divert valve of one flow path is closed, the inert gas is configured to flow to the flow path and the high-temperature mass flow controller.

[0175] Implementation 6: The system of implementation 2, wherein: each flow path includes a second inert gas insertion point configured to receive inert gas into the flow path from the corresponding inert gas delivery conduit, the inert gas insertion point is upstream of the high-temperature mas flow controller, andthe second inert gas insertion point is downstream of the high-temperature mas flow controller.

[0176] Implementation 7 : The system of any one of implementations 1 to 6, further comprising a pressure flow controller configured to control a pressure of the ampoule by controlling a flow of the inert gas into the ampoule through the inlet.

[0177] Implementation 8: The system of any one of implementations 1 to 6, further comprising an inert gas mass flow controller fluidically connected to the inlet of the ampoule and configured to flow the inert gas into the ampoule.

[0178] Implementation 9: The system of any one of implementations 1 to 6, further comprising a plurality of mass flow controllers, wherein each mass flow controller is: fluidically connected to one corresponding flow path, fluidically interposed along the corresponding flow path between the outlet of the ampoule and the high-temperature mass flow controller, and configured to control a flow of the mixture along the flow path.

[0179] Implementation 10: The system of any one of implementations 1 to 9, wherein: upstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller, each flow path is configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 120 °C and 145 °C, and downstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller, each flow path is configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 100 °C and 130 °C.

[0180] Implementation 11: The system of any one of implementations 1 to 10, wherein each flow path includes a plurality of gas delivery conduits that are comprised of a stainless steel or a stainless steel alloy.

[0181] Implementation 12: The system of implementation 1, further comprising: an adjustable control valve configured to adjust flow of the inert gas into the inlet of the ampoule; a mass flow meter fluidically interposed between the adjustable valve and the inlet of the ampoule, and configured to measure a mass flow rate of the inert gas flowing into the ampoule; an orifice fluidically connected downstream of the outlet of the ampoule; a reserve volume fluidically connected to the orifice and the ampoule, downstream of the orifice, and fluidically interposed between the ampoule and the plurality of flow paths such that the first mixture flows from the reserve volume to each flow path; anda controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, wherein: the ampoule further comprises a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and a heater, the controller is configured to receive signals from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, and the pressure sensor, and the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the adjustment, based on orifice information and signals received from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, and the pressure sensor, of the adjustable valve to maintain the first mixture at a first mole fraction of precursor and a second mole fraction of inert gas.

[0182] Implementation 13: The system of implementation 12, further comprising a control valve fluidically interposed between the orifice and the reserve volume, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to cause the control valve to: open when a pressure in the reserve volume falls below a lower pressure threshold, and close when the pressure in the reserve volume reaches an upper pressure threshold.

[0183] Implementation 14: The system of implementation 13, wherein: the reserve volume further comprises a reserve volume pressure sensor, and the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to cause the control valve to open and close based, at least in part, on signals from the reserve volume pressure sensor.

[0184] Implementation 15: The system of implementation 12, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to cause the heater to increase heat applied to the precursor in the ampoule.

[0185] Implementation 16: The system of implementation 12, further comprising a second pressure sensor fluidically interposed between the orifice and the reserve volume, and configured to measure a pressure of the mixture, wherein the instructions are configured to adjust, based on orifice information and signals received from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, the pressure sensor, and the second pressure sensor, the adjustable valve to maintain the first mixture at a first mole fraction of precursor and a second mole fraction of inert gas.

[0186] Implementation 17: The system of implementation 12, wherein the reserve volume has a volume larger than 8 liters.

[0187] Implementation 18: A precursor delivery system, comprising: an ampoule having an outlet and configured to: contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor in a headspace, and only flow the precursor vapor out of the outlet; a mixture volume fluidically connected to, downstream of, the ampoule; an inert gas flow path comprising one or more delivery conduits and configured to flow an inert gas into the mixture volume; a precursor vapor flow path fluidically connecting the outlet of the ampoule to the mixture volume; and a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the mixture volume and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules, wherein: the precursor vapor flow path comprises: a first control valve downstream of the outlet, a pressure-controlled vapor volume downstream of the control valve, a resistive flow element downstream of the pressure-controlled vapor volume and configured to cause a resistance to flow of the vapor, and a second control valve downstream of the resistive flow element and configured to control the flow of the vapor to the mixture volume, the inert gas flow path comprises a third control valve configured to control the flow of the inert gas to the mixture volume, and the mixture volume is configured to hold a mixture of the inert gas and the precursor vapor.

[0188] Implementation 19: The system of implementation 18, wherein the inert gas flow path further comprises: a second resistive flow element upstream of the third control valve and configured to cause a resistance to the flow of the inert gas, a pressure-controlled inert gas volume upstream of the second resistive flow element, and a fourth control valve upstream of the pressure-controlled inert gas volume and configured to control the flow of inert gas into the pressure-controlled inert gas volume.

[0189] Implementation 20: The system of implementation 19, further comprising a controllerhaving one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: the second control valve and the third control valve to open at substantially the same time, and the second control valve and the third control valve to close at substantially the same time.

[0190] Implementation 21: The system of implementation 20, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to: cause the second control valve to open for a first time period, and cause the third control valve to open for a second time period that is longer than the first time period.

[0191] Implementation 22: The system of implementation 21, wherein the first time period and the second time period overlap with each other.

[0192] Implementation 23: The system of any one of implementations 18 to 22, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, wherein: the mixture volume is a pressure-controlled mixture volume that comprises a mixture volume pressure sensor, and the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the second control valve and the third control valve to open and close to maintain a pressure of the mixture volume within a pressure region.

[0193] Implementation 24: The system of implementation 18, wherein: the inert gas flow path further comprises: a second resistive flow element upstream of the third control valve and configured to cause a resistance to the flow of the inert gas, and a pressure-controlled inert gas volume upstream of the second resistive flow element, and the third control valve is the same valve as the third control valve such that: the inert gas flow path and the vapor flow path meet at the same valve and flow through the same delivery conduit from the same valve to the mixture volume, and the same valve is configured to control the flow of both the inert gas and the vapor to the mixture volume.

[0194] Implementation 25: The system of implementation 24, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: the same valve to open for a first time period to flow the inert gas and the vapor to the mixture volume.

[0195] Implementation 26: The system of implementation 24 or 25, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, wherein: the mixture volume is a pressure-controlled mixture volume that comprises a mixture volume pressure sensor, and the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the same valve to open and close to maintain a pressure of the mixture volume within a pressure region.

[0196] Implementation 27: The system of one of implementations 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, or 26, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: a first pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume to be maintained within a first pressure region, and a second pressure in the pressure-controlled inert gas volume to be maintained within a second pressure region.

[0197] Implementation 28: The system of implementation 27, wherein: the pressure-controlled vapor volume comprises a first pressure sensor, the pressure-controlled inert gas volume comprises a second pressure sensor, and the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to: receive signals from the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor, cause the first control valve to operate to maintain the first pressure within the first pressure region, and cause the fourth control valve to operate to maintain the second pressure within the second pressure region.

[0198] Implementation 29: The system of any one of implementations 19 to 28, wherein the resistive flow element and the second resistive flow element are both flow orifices.

[0199] Implementation 30: The system of any one of implementations 19 to 28, wherein the resistive flow element is configured to restrict more flow than the second resistive flow element.

[0200] Implementation 31: The system of any one of implementations 19 to 30, wherein: the first control valve is a first throttle valve configured to maintain a first pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume within a first pressure region, and / or the fourth control valve is a fourth throttle valve configured to maintain a fourth pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume within a fourth pressure region.

[0201] Implementation 32: The system of implementation 18, wherein the inert gas flow path further comprises a mass flow controller upstream of the third control valve configured to flow the inert gas to the third control valve and the mixture volume.

[0202] Implementation 33: The system of implementation 32, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: the mass flow controller to flow the inert gas to the third control valve before opening the second control valve or the third control valve, the second control valve and the third control valve to open at substantially the same time, and the second control valve and the third control valve to close at substantially the same time.

[0203] Implementation 34: The system of implementation 32, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: the mass flow controller to flow the inert gas to the third control valve before opening the second control valve or the third control valve, the second control valve to open for a first time period, and the third control valve to open for a second time period that is longer than the first time period.

[0204] Implementation 35: The system of implementation 34, wherein the first time period and the second time period overlap with each other.

[0205] Implementation 36: The system of one of implementations 33 to 35, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: a first pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume to be maintained within a first pressure region.

[0206] Implementation 37: The system of implementation 36, wherein: the pressure-controlled vapor volume comprises a first pressure sensor, andthe instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to: receive signals from the first pressure sensor, and cause the first control valve to operate to maintain the first pressure within the first pressure region.

[0207] Implementation 38: The system of any one of implementations 32 to 37, further comprising a divert flow path that: is fluidically connected to the inert gas flow path upstream of the third control valve, and has a divert valve configured to control the flow of gas along the divert flow path, wherein: the inert gas is configured to flow to the divert flow path when the third control valve is closed and the divert valve is open.

[0208] Implementation 39: The system of implementation 38, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: the divert valve to be open when the third valve is closed.

[0209] Implementation 40: The system of any one of implementations 32 to 39, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, wherein: the mixture volume is a pressure-controlled mixture volume that comprises a mixture volume pressure sensor, and the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the second control valve and the third control valve to open and close to maintain a pressure of the mixture volume within a pressure region.

[0210] Implementation 41: The system of any one of implementations 18 to 40, wherein the inert gas flow path and the vapor flow path terminate at a pre-mixing chamber upstream of the mixture volume.

[0211] Implementation 42: The system of any one of implementations 18 to 41, further comprising a plurality of mass flow controllers, wherein each mass flow controller is: fluidically connected to one corresponding flow path, fluidically interposed along the corresponding flow path between the outlet of the mixture volume and the corresponding processing module, and configured to control a flow of the mixture along the flow path.

[0212] Implementation 43: The system of any one of implementations 18 to 42, wherein each flow path is configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 125 °C and 145 °C.

[0213] Implementation 44: The system of any one of implementations 18 to 42, wherein each flow path is configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 100 °C and 130 °C.

[0214] Implementation 45: The system of any one of implementations 18 to 44, wherein each flow path includes a plurality of gas delivery conduits that are comprised of a stainless steel or a stainless steel alloy.

[0215] Implementation 46: The system of any one of implementations 18 to 45, further comprising a second mixture volume downstream of the mixture volume, wherein a mixture of the inert gas and the vapor in the mixture volume flows to the second mixture volume before flowing to the plurality of flow paths.

[0216] Implementation 47: The system of any one of implementations 18 to 46, wherein the inert gas is not flowed into the ampoule.

[0217] Implementation 48: A precursor delivery system, comprising: an ampoule having an outlet and configured to: contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor in a headspace, and only flow the precursor vapor out of the outlet; a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the outlet of the ampoule and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules; and a plurality of first inert gas delivery conduits, wherein each first inert gas delivery conduit is fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at a first inert gas insertion point of each flow path, wherein: each flow path: is configured to flow the precursor vapor from the ampoule to the first inert gas insertion point, is configured to flow a mixture of the precursor vapor and the inert gas downstream of the first inert gas insertion point, is configured to maintain the first mixture at a temperature between 100 °C and 150 °C, and has a high-temperature mass flow controller configured to control flow of the first mixture along the flow path.

[0218] Implementation 49: The system of implementation 48, further comprising the features of any one of implementations 2 to 17.

[0219] Implementation 50: The system of implementation 48, further comprising a plurality of first inert gas mass flow controllers, wherein each first inert gas mass flow controller: is fluidically connected to a corresponding first inert gas delivery conduit, and configured to flow inert gas into the corresponding flow path.

[0220] Implementation 51 : The system of implementation 48, further comprising a plurality of first inert gas flow orifices, wherein each first inert gas flow orifice: is fluidically connected to a corresponding first inert gas delivery conduit, and configured to choke inert gas flow into the corresponding flow path.

[0221] Implementation 52: A method of precursor delivery using the system of any one of implementations 1 to 17 and 48 to 51, the method comprising: flowing the mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor through the high-temperature mass flow controller of each flow path to flow the mixture to the processing volume of the corresponding processing module during a dose step of a processing cycle; stopping the flow of mixture to the high-temperature mass flow controller without closing the high-temperature mass flow controller; and flowing, during or after the stopping, inert gas through the high-temperature mass flow controller without closing the high-temperature mass flow controller.

[0222] Implementation 53: The method of implementation 52, further comprising flowing, after flowing the inert gas, the mixture of inert gas and precursor vapor through the high- temperature mass flow controller of each flow path to flow the mixture to the processing volume of the corresponding processing module during a dose step of a second processing cycle.

[0223] Implementation 54: A method of precursor delivery using the system of any one of implementations 1 to 17 and 48 to 51, the method comprising: heating the precursor in the ampoule to create a precursor vapor in the ampoule; flowing inert gas into the ampoule and thereby creating a mixture of precursor vapor and inert gas and thereby lowering the partial pressure of the precursor vapor in the ampoule; flowing the mixture downstream to a plurality of flow paths fluidically connected to a corresponding processing module; flowing the mixture to a corresponding high-temperature mass flow controller; and flowing the mixture, by the corresponding high-temperature mass flow controller to thecorresponding processing module.

[0224] Implementation 55: The method of implementation 54, further comprising maintaining a constant pressure, or pressure range, in the ampoule by pressure flow control of the ampoule.

[0225] Implementation 56: A method of precursor delivery using the system of any one of implementations 18 to 47, the method comprising: heating the ampoule and thereby vaporizing the precursor in the headspace the ampoule, without flowing any inert gas into the ampoule, and generating a pressure of precursor vapor in the ampoule; flowing the precursor vapor is flowed to the pressure-controlled vapor volume; flowing the precursor vapor from the pressure-controlled vapor volume through the resistive flow element to the first control valve; flowing the precursor vapor from the first control valve into the mixture volume; flowing the inert gas to the pressure-controlled inert volume; flowing the inert gas to the second control valve; and flowing the inert gas from the second control valve into the mixture volume.

[0226] Implementation 57: The method of implementation 56, further comprising flowing a mixture of the precursor vapor and inert gas from the mixture volume to a plurality of flow paths and process modules fluidically connected to the mixture volume.

[0227] Implementation 58: The method of implementation 56 of 57, wherein the flowing of the precursor vapor into the mixture volume and the flowing of the inert gas into the mixture volume are performed at the same time.

[0228] Implementation 59: The method of implementation 56 or 57, wherein the flowing of the precursor vapor into the mixture volume and the flowing of the inert gas into the mixture volume overlap with each other.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A precursor delivery system, comprising: an ampoule having an inlet and an outlet, and configured to: contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor, receive an inert gas through the inlet, and flow a first mixture of the inert gas and the precursor vapor out of the outlet; and a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the outlet of the ampoule and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules, wherein each flow path: is configured to flow the first mixture, is configured to maintain the first mixture at a temperature between 100°C and 150 °C, and has a high-temperature mass flow controller configured to control flow of the first mixture along the flow path.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of inert gas delivery conduits, wherein each inert gas delivery conduit is fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at an inert gas insertion point of each flow path.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of inert gas mass flow controllers, wherein each inert gas mass flow controller: is fluidically connected to a corresponding inert gas delivery conduit, and configured to flow inert gas into the corresponding flow path.

4. The system of claim 2, further comprising: an exhaust; a plurality of divert conduits that are fluidically connected to the exhaust; and a plurality of divert valves, wherein:each divert conduit is fluidically connected to a corresponding flow path at a divert point of the flow path, each divert valve is fluidically connected to a corresponding divert conduit and configured to control the flow of the mixture between the corresponding flow path and the exhaust, the divert point is upstream of the inert gas insertion point and the high- temperature mass flow controller, the inert gas insertion point is upstream of the high-temperature mas flow controller, and when one divert valve of one flow path is closed, the inert gas is configured to flow to the flow path and the high-temperature mass flow controller.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein: each flow path includes a second inert gas insertion point configured to receive inert gas into the flow path from the corresponding inert gas delivery conduit, the inert gas insertion point is upstream of the high-temperature mas flow controller, and the second inert gas insertion point is downstream of the high-temperature mas flow controller.

6. The system of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a pressure flow controller configured to control a pressure of the ampoule by controlling a flow of the inert gas into the ampoule through the inlet.

7. The system of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: upstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller, each flow path is configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 120 °C and 145 °C, and downstream of the high-temperature mass flow controller, each flow path is configured to maintain the temperature of the mixture between 100 °C and 130 °C.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising: an adjustable control valve configured to adjust flow of the inert gas into the inlet of the ampoule;a mass flow meter fluidically interposed between the adjustable valve and the inlet of the ampoule, and configured to measure a mass flow rate of the inert gas flowing into the ampoule; an orifice fluidically connected downstream of the outlet of the ampoule; a reserve volume fluidically connected to the orifice and the ampoule, downstream of the orifice, and fluidically interposed between the ampoule and the plurality of flow paths such that the first mixture flows from the reserve volume to each flow path; and a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, wherein: the ampoule further comprises a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and a heater, the controller is configured to receive signals from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, and the pressure sensor, and the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the adjustment, based on orifice information and signals received from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, and the pressure sensor, of the adjustable valve to maintain the first mixture at a first mole fraction of precursor and a second mole fraction of inert gas.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a control valve fluidically interposed between the orifice and the reserve volume, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to cause the control valve to: open when a pressure in the reserve volume falls below a lower pressure threshold, and close when the pressure in the reserve volume reaches an upper pressure threshold.

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising a second pressure sensor fluidically interposed between the orifice and the reserve volume, and configured to measure a pressure of the mixture, wherein the instructions are configured to adjust, based on orifice information and signals received from the mass flow meter, the temperature sensor, the pressure sensor, and the second pressure sensor, the adjustable valve to maintain the first mixture at a first mole fraction of precursor and a second mole fraction of inert gas.

11. A precursor delivery system, comprising: an ampoule having an outlet and configured to: contain a precursor, heat the precursor to a vapor in a headspace, and only flow the precursor vapor out of the outlet; a mixture volume fluidically connected to, downstream of, the ampoule; an inert gas flow path comprising one or more delivery conduits and configured to flow an inert gas into the mixture volume; a precursor vapor flow path fluidically connecting the outlet of the ampoule to the mixture volume; and a plurality of flow paths that are each fluidically connected to the mixture volume and configured to be fluidically connected to one corresponding processing module of a plurality of processing modules, wherein: the precursor vapor flow path comprises: a first control valve downstream of the outlet, a pressure-controlled vapor volume downstream of the control valve, a resistive flow element downstream of the pressure-controlled vapor volume and configured to cause a resistance to flow of the vapor, and a second control valve downstream of the resistive flow element and configured to control the flow of the vapor to the mixture volume, the inert gas flow path comprises a third control valve configured to control the flow of the inert gas to the mixture volume, and the mixture volume is configured to hold a mixture of the inert gas and the precursor vapor.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the inert gas flow path further comprises: a second resistive flow element upstream of the third control valve and configured to cause a resistance to the flow of the inert gas, a pressure-controlled inert gas volume upstream of the second resistive flow element, and a fourth control valve upstream of the pressure-controlled inert gas volume and configured to control the flow of inert gas into the pressure-controlled inert gas volume.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: the second control valve and the third control valve to open at substantially the same time, and the second control valve and the third control valve to close at substantially the same time.

14. The system of any one of claims 11 to 13, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, wherein: the mixture volume is a pressure-controlled mixture volume that comprises a mixture volume pressure sensor, and the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the second control valve and the third control valve to open and close to maintain a pressure of the mixture volume within a pressure region.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein: the inert gas flow path further comprises: a second resistive flow element upstream of the third control valve and configured to cause a resistance to the flow of the inert gas, and a pressure-controlled inert gas volume upstream of the second resistive flow element, and the third control valve is the same valve as the third control valve such that: the inert gas flow path and the vapor flow path meet at the same valve and flow through the same delivery conduit from the same valve to the mixture volume, and the same valve is configured to control the flow of both the inert gas and the vapor to the mixture volume.

16. The system of any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein: the first control valve is a first throttle valve configured to maintain a first pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume within a first pressure region, and / orthe fourth control valve is a fourth throttle valve configured to maintain a fourth pressure in the pressure-controlled vapor volume within a fourth pressure region.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the inert gas flow path further comprises a mass flow controller upstream of the third control valve configured to flow the inert gas to the third control valve and the mixture volume.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising a divert flow path that: is fluidically connected to the inert gas flow path upstream of the third control valve, and has a divert valve configured to control the flow of gas along the divert flow path, wherein: the inert gas is configured to flow to the divert flow path when the third control valve is closed and the divert valve is open.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a controller having one or more processors and one or more memories that store instructions for controlling the system, the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to cause: the divert valve to be open when the third valve is closed.

20. The system of any one of claims 11 to 19, further comprising a second mixture volume downstream of the mixture volume, wherein a mixture of the inert gas and the vapor in the mixture volume flows to the second mixture volume before flowing to the plurality of flow paths.

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