Spiral mixer for semiconductor processing

Abstract

Mixing junctions for semiconductor processing may have a body having a first end, a second end, and a first side, a first inlet at the first end, a second inlet at the first end or first side, an outlet at the second end, a first passage extending through the body from the first inlet to the outlet along a first axis parallel to a center axis of the body, fluidically connecting the first inlet to the outlet, having a junction portion, a first passage portion extending from the first inlet to the junction portion, a spiral portion, and a second passage portion interposed between the spiral portion and the outlet, and a second passage extending from the second inlet to the junction portion of the first bore, terminating at the junction portion, and fluidically connecting the second inlet to the first bore.

Description

Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WOSPIRAL MIXER 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 its entirety 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 gas 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. Various gases are used during the one or more processing operations, including flowing purge gases during purge operations and flowing gases during precursor delivery. Although many forms of gas delivery systems exist, they are generally configured to provide controlled gas flow and delivery of gases and precursors.

[0003] The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, 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 present 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] In some embodiments, a mixer junction for semiconductor processing is provided. The mixer junction includes: a body having a first end, a second end oppositeAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO the first end, and a first side; a first inlet at the first end; a second inlet at the first end or the first side; an outlet at the second end; a first passage extending through the body from the first inlet to the outlet along a first axis parallel to a center axis of the body, fluidically connecting the first inlet to the outlet, having a junction portion, a first passage portion extending from the first inlet to the junction portion, a spiral portion, and a second passage portion interposed between the spiral portion and the outlet; and a second passage extending from the second inlet to the junction portion of the first bore, terminating at the junction portion, and fluidically connecting the second inlet to the first bore, wherein: the spiral portion has an outer bore surface parallel to the first axis and a spiral surface with a plurality of rotations around the first axis for a first length of the first passage, the spiral surface is radially inwards of the outer bore surface with respect to the first axis, the rotations of the spiral surface are offset from each other by a pitch parallel to the first axis, and the spiral surface has at least two rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction portion.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first passage portion has a first inner diameter, the junction portion includes a junction cylindrical surface that has a second inner diameter, the outer bore surface has an outer diameter, and the second passage portion has a third inner diameter.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first inner diameter is less than the second inner diameter.

[0008] In some embodiments, the junction portion further includes a frustoconical surface spanning between the first passage portion and the junction cylindrical surface.

[0009] In some embodiments, the second inner diameter is equal to the outer diameter.

[0010] In some embodiments, the outer diameter is equal to the third inner diameter.

[0011] In some embodiments, the second passage has a third passage portion that: terminates at the junction portion, and is perpendicular to the first axis.

[0012] In some embodiments, the mixer junction further includes: a valve interface; a third inlet at the valve interface, wherein: the third inlet is interposed along the second passage, the second passage includes a fifth passage portion that spans between, and fluidically connects, the first inlet and the third inlet, and the second passage includes aAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO sixth passage portion that spans between, and fluidically connects, the third inlet and the junction portion of the first passage.

[0013] In some embodiments, the fifth passage portion and the sixth passage portion terminate at each other and form a fluidic connection with each other independent of the third inlet.

[0014] In some embodiments, when a valve is interfaced with the valve interface, fluid is configured to flow along the second passage and between the fifth passage portion and the sixth passage when the valve is in an open position or a closed position.

[0015] In some embodiments, the sixth passage portion is perpendicular to the first axis.

[0016] In some embodiments, the second inlet is on the first end.

[0017] In some embodiments, the spiral surface has a cross-sectional profile perpendicular to the first axis having: a first surface facing the first inlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a first corner, the first corner forming a first included angle, a second surface facing the outlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a second corner, the second corner forming a second included angle, and a centermost surface facing the first axis and spanning between the first surface and the second surface.

[0018] In some embodiments, the centermost surface intersects the first surface at a first edge that is rounded, and the centermost surface intersects the second surface at a second edge that is rounded.

[0019] In some embodiments, the first surface and the centermost surface form a first reflex angle that ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees, and the second surface and the centermost surface form a second reflex angle that ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees.

[0020] In some embodiments, a cross-sectional profile of the centermost surface is linear and oriented at a nonparallel angle with respect to the first axis.

[0021] In some embodiments, opposite portions of the centermost surface in a direction perpendicular to, and intersecting with, the first axis are offset from each other by a nonzero peak-to-peak distance.

[0022] In some embodiments, the first corner and the second corner are rounded.

[0023] In some embodiments, the first included angle is obtuse and ranges fromAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees, and the second included angle is obtuse and ranges from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees.

[0024] In some embodiments, the spiral surface has no more than two rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction portion.

[0025] 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 implementations and / or the claimed subject matter.

[0026] 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

[0027] Various implementations 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.

[0028] Figure 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a process station for semiconductor processing.

[0029] Figure 2 depicts a cross-sectional side view of the mixer junction of Figure 1.

[0030] Figure 3 depicts a magnified cross-sectional view of the mixer junction of Figure 2.

[0031] Figure 4 depicts a magnified cross-sectional slice of a portion of the mixer junction of Figure 3.

[0032] Figure 5 depicts a magnified cross-sectional slice of a portion of another implementation of a mixer junction.

[0033] Figure 6 depicts a magnified cross-sectional slice of a portion of yet another implementation of a mixer junction.

[0034] Figure 7 depicts an example pathway and spiral surface.

[0035] Figure 8 depicts a cross-sectional slice of the mixer junction of Figure 2.

[0036] Figure 9 provides an example flow diagram of the mixer junction.

[0037] Figure 10 depicts an example showerhead with a mixer portion.

[0038] Figure 11 depicts a schematic view of an embodiment of a multi-station processing tool.Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO

[0039] Figure 12 depicts a cross-sectional side view of another example mixer junction.

[0040] Figure 13 depicts a cross-sectional side view of yet another example mixer manifold.

[0041] Figure 14A depicts the cross-sectional side view of Figure 13 with exemplary gas flows.

[0042] Figure 14B depicts the cross-sectional side view of Figure 13 with other exemplary gas flows.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various implementations. The disclosed implementations 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 implementations. While the disclosed implementations will be described in conjunction with specific implementations, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the disclosed implementations.

[0044] 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 implementations include various articles, such as printed circuit boards, magnetic recording media, magnetic recording sensors, mirrors, optical elements, micromechanical devices, and the like.

[0045] 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 gas delivery system in which vapor-phase and sometimes gas precursors are reacted with and / or on a surface of a substrate to deposit materialAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO thereon or remove material therefrom. Some semiconductor processing performs purge operations during or after performing a processing cycle.

[0046] In some such processes, it is desirable to mix two gas constituents, such as a gas and a mixture, or two mixtures, together in the gas delivery system, such as upstream of the showerhead. Insufficient mixing of the gas constituents can adversely affect processing in numerous ways, such as nonuniform deposition or etching, higher processing times which decreases throughput, and unwanted material buildup in the gas delivery system or processing chamber. As new and emerging chemistries and processes are developed and used, the mixing of such chemistries together has become more difficult and has led to higher nonuniformity of deposited material. For example, some new chemistries that are intended to be mixed together are immiscible and / or have a high molecular weight ratio which makes them difficult to mix by diffusion alone. Further, acceptable nonuniformity tolerances have decreased for some processes which has required the nonuniformity of deposited material to also be decreased.

[0047] In one example, some deposition processes separately flow a first process gas, such as hydrogen, and a second process gas, such as a mixture of argon and a precursor, in the gas delivery system to a junction point where the first and second process gases are to mix and then flow into the showerhead and onto a substrate. In some instances, the mixing of these two gases is perpendicular to the flow direction. For good mixing, the gases should be able to transport laterally faster than the flow direction. Lateral and along-flow transport of gas depends on diffusion coefficient between gases, and mean velocity, respectively. Since diffusion time scale of these two gases is significantly larger than the advective time scale of flow, these gases will not be able to mix before they reach showerhead. It is therefore desirable to provide a mixer, or mixing structure, that causes rapid lateral transport of one gas into another, such as with turbulence or swirling, of the process gases which in turn causes the process gases to mix before it reaches showerhead. It is also desirable to provide a mixer that causes minimal obstruction and velocity / pressure drop of the gases flowing therethrough.

[0048] Provided herein are new and novel mixers having a spiral surface that provides advantageous mixing of various chemistries. In some implementations, the mixer has a central bore having an outer planar side surface and a spiral surface extending from theAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO outer planar side surface towards the center axis of the central bore. The spiral surface has a plurality of rotations that are offset from each other by a pitch and that extend around and along the center axis. In some instances, the spiral surface may be considered to create a threaded internal bore. The spiral surface has a centermost surface that faces the center axis of the central bore and inside this centermost surface, the central bore is empty and without any obstructions or structures. The spiral surface may have various cross-sections, such as triangular, rectangular, trapezoidal, or sinusoidal, and the edges may be curved or rounded. In some implementations, the mixer with the spiral surface is provided inside a T-junction or a manifold body, and in other instances, is provided inside the stem of a showerhead. In some implementations, the mixer has a junction portion upstream of a spiral portion having the spiral surface, where two gas flows meet.

[0049] Figure 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a process station 100 that may be used to deposit material using ALD and / or chemical vapor deposition (CVD), either of which may be plasma enhanced. For simplicity, the process station 100 is depicted as a standalone process station having a process chamber body 102 for maintaining a low-pressure environment. However, it will be appreciated that a plurality of process stations 100 may be included in a common process tool environment. Further, it will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, one or more hardware parameters of process station 100, including those discussed in detail below, may be adjusted programmatically by one or more computer controllers.

[0050] Process station 100 fluidly communicates with gas delivery system 101 for delivering process gases to a showerhead 106. The gas delivery system 101 includes a first process gas source 120 and a second process gas source 122 that are both fluidically connected to a mixer junction 104. The mixer junction 104 is detailed below and is configured to mix process gases for delivery to showerhead 106. One or more mixing vessel inlet valves 121 may control introduction of process gases to the mixer junction 104. Similarly, a showerhead inlet valve 105 may control introduction of process gasses to the showerhead 106. In some implementations, the first process gas may be a reactant, such as hydrogen. In some instances, the second process gas may be a precursor or a mixture having a precursor with one or more other constituents, suchAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO as a precursor and an inert carrier gas. The carrier gas may be argon of nitrogen, for example.

[0051] Showerhead 106 positioned in the chamber 102 distributes process gases toward substrate 112. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, substrate 112 is located beneath showerhead 106, and is shown resting on a pedestal 108. It will be appreciated that showerhead 106 may have any suitable shape, and may have any suitable number and arrangement of ports for distributing processes gases to substrate 112. For example, as depicted, the showerhead 106 may be a chandelier-type showerhead with a stem upstream of a body having one or more plenums and through- holes fluidically connecting the plenum to an interior volume in between the substrate 112 and the showerhead 106. The stem may extend above the chamber 102 and have a central bore fluidically connected to the mixer junction 104. Additional or alternative features of the showerhead 106 are provided below.

[0052] In some implementations, the microvolume 107 is located beneath showerhead 106. Performing an ALD and / or CVD process in a microvolume rather than in the entire volume of a process station may reduce reactant exposure and sweep times, may reduce times for altering process conditions (e.g., pressure, temperature, etc.), may limit an exposure of process station robotics to process gases, etc. Example microvolume sizes include, but are not limited to, volumes between 0.1 liter and 2 liters. This microvolume also impacts productivity throughput. While deposition rate per cycle drops, the cycle time also simultaneously reduces. In certain cases, the effect of the latter is dramatic enough to improve overall throughput of the module for a given target thickness of film.

[0053] In some implementations, pedestal 108 may be raised or lowered to expose substrate 112 to microvolume 107 and / or to vary a volume of microvolume 107. For example, in a substrate transfer phase, pedestal 108 may be lowered to allow substrate 112 to be loaded onto pedestal 108. During a deposition process phase, pedestal 108 may be raised to position substrate 112 within microvolume 107. In some embodiments, microvolume 107 may completely enclose substrate 112 as well as a portion of pedestal 108 to create a region of high flow impedance during a deposition process.Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO

[0054] Optionally, pedestal 108 may be lowered and / or raised during portions the deposition process to modulate process pressure, reactant concentration, etc., within microvolume 107. In one scenario where process chamber body 102 remains at a base pressure during the deposition process, lowering pedestal 108 may allow microvolume 107 to be evacuated. Example ratios of microvolume to process chamber volume include, but are not limited to, volume ratios between 1:100 and 1:10. It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, pedestal height may be adjusted programmatically by a suitable computer controller.

[0055] In another scenario, adjusting a height of pedestal 108 may allow a plasma density to be varied during plasma activation and / or treatment cycles included in the deposition process. At the conclusion of the deposition process phase, pedestal 108 may be lowered during another substrate transfer phase to allow removal of substrate 112 from pedestal 108.

[0056] While the example microvolume variations described herein refer to a height- adjustable pedestal, it will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, a position of showerhead 106 may be adjusted relative to pedestal 108 to vary a volume of microvolume 107. Further, it will be appreciated that a vertical position of pedestal 108 and / or showerhead 106 may be varied by any suitable mechanism within the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, pedestal 108 may include a rotational axis for rotating an orientation of substrate 112. It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, one or more of these example adjustments may be performed programmatically by one or more suitable computer controllers.

[0057] Returning to the embodiment shown in Figure 1, showerhead 106 and pedestal 108 electrically communicate with RF power supply 114 and matching network 116 for powering a plasma. In some embodiments, the plasma energy may be controlled by controlling one or more of a process station pressure, a gas concentration, an RF source power, an RF source frequency, and a plasma power pulse timing. For example, RF power supply 114 and matching network 116 may be operated at any suitable power to form a plasma having a desired composition of radical species. Examples of suitable powers are included above. Likewise, RF power supply 114 may provide RF power of any suitable frequency. In some embodiments, RF power supplyAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO114 may be configured to control high- and low-frequency RF power sources independently of one another. Example low-frequency RF frequencies may include, but are not limited to, frequencies between 50 kHz and 100 kHz. Example high-frequency RF frequencies may include, but are not limited to, frequencies between 1.8 MHz and 2.45 GHz. It will be appreciated that any suitable parameters may be modulated discretely or continuously to provide plasma energy for the surface reactions. In one non-limiting example, the plasma power may be intermittently pulsed to reduce ion bombardment with the substrate surface relative to continuously powered plasmas.

[0058] In some embodiments, the plasma may be monitored in-situ by one or more plasma monitors. In one scenario, plasma power may be monitored by one or more voltage, current sensors (e.g., VI probes). In another scenario, plasma density and / or process gas concentration may be measured by one or more optical emission spectroscopy sensors (OES). In some embodiments, one or more plasma parameters may be programmatically adjusted based on measurements from such in-situ plasma monitors. For example, an OES sensor may be used in a feedback loop for providing programmatic control of plasma power. It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, other monitors may be used to monitor the plasma and other process characteristics. Such monitors may include, but are not limited to, infrared (IR) monitors, acoustic monitors, and pressure transducers.

[0059] In some embodiments, the plasma may be controlled via input / output control (IOC) sequencing instructions. In one example, the instructions for setting plasma conditions for a plasma process phase may be included in a corresponding plasma activation recipe phase of a deposition process recipe. In some cases, process recipe phases may be sequentially arranged, so that all instructions for a deposition process phase are executed concurrently with that process phase. In some embodiments, instructions for setting one or more plasma parameters may be included in a recipe phase preceding a plasma process phase. For example, a first recipe phase may include instructions for setting a flow rate of an inert and / or a reactant gas, instructions for setting a plasma generator to a power set point, and time delay instructions for the first recipe phase. A second, subsequent recipe phase may include instructions for enabling the plasma generator and time delay instructions for the second recipe phase. A thirdAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO recipe phase may include instructions for disabling the plasma generator and time delay instructions for the third recipe phase. It will be appreciated that these recipe phases may be further subdivided and / or iterated in any suitable way within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0060] In some deposition processes, plasma strikes last on the order of a few seconds or more in duration. In certain implementations, much shorter plasma strikes may be used. These may be on the order of 10 ms to 1 second, typically, about 20 to 80 ms, with 50 ms being a specific example. Such very short RF plasma strikes require extremely quick stabilization of the plasma. To accomplish this, the plasma generator may be configured such that the impedance match is set preset to a particular voltage, while the frequency is allowed to float. Conventionally, high-frequency plasmas are generated at an RF frequency at about 13.56 MHz. In various embodiments disclosed herein, the frequency is allowed to float to a value that is different from this standard value. By permitting the frequency to float while fixing the impedance match to a predetermined voltage, the plasma can stabilize much more quickly, a result which may be important when using the very short plasma strikes associated with some types of deposition cycles.

[0061] In some embodiments, pedestal 108 may be temperature controlled via heater 110. Further, in some embodiments, pressure control for deposition process station 100 may be provided by butterfly valve 118. As shown in the embodiment of Figure 1, butterfly valve 118 throttles a vacuum provided by a downstream vacuum pump (not shown). However, in some embodiments, pressure control of process station 100 may also be adjusted by varying a flow rate of one or more gases introduced to process station 100.

[0062] Features of the mixer junction will now be discussed. Figure 2 depicts a cross- sectional side view of the mixer junction of Figure 1. This cross-section is taken along center axis 142 of the mixer junction 104. Here, the mixer junction 104 has a body 130 having a top end 132, a bottom end 134, a first inlet 136 at the top end 132, and an outlet 138 at the bottom end 134. The first inlet 136 is configured to receive a process gas, such as the first process gas 120 of Figure 1 which may be a reactant like hydrogen. The mixer junction 104 also has a first bore 140 extending through the body 130 fromAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO the first inlet 136 to the outlet 138 along a center axis 142 for a first length LI. The first bore 140 f luidica lly connects the first inlet 136 with the outlet 138 such that process gases flowing through the first inlet 136 flow through the body 130 and out the outlet 138. The first bore 140 also has a plurality of outer surfaces configured to cause turbulence and swirling of process gases in the first bore 140 (which may be considered the rapid and lateral transport of one gas into another) in order to mix process gases therein. The central region of the first bore 140 is free of and without any structures, surfaces, or obstructions.

[0063] The first bore 140 has an outer bore surface 144 that extends around the center axis 142 and is parallel to the center axis 142. In Figure 2, various locations of the outer bore surface 144 are identified. The outer bore surface 144 is the outer most surface of the first bore 140 with respect to the center axis 142. The outer bore surface 144 also has an outer diameter OD1. In some implementations, the outer diameter OD1 may be smaller than an outlet bore diameter OD2 of the outlet 138. For example, the outlet 138 may have an outlet bore 178 that is coaxial to the center axis 142, extends into the body 130 in a direction parallel to the center axis 142 for a second length L2, and terminates at the first bore 140. The outlet bore 178 may also have an outlet bore surface 180 that extends around the center axis 142 and has the outlet bore diameter OD2 that is greater than the outer diameter OD1 of the first bore 140. This configuration may, in some instances, provide for the connection to a showerhead stem. In some instances, a portion of a showerhead stem (not illustrated here) may be inserted into the outlet bore 178.

[0064] The mixer junction 104 also has a second inlet 150 at a side of the body 130. A second bore 152 extends partially through the body 130 from the second inlet 150 to the first bore 140 and terminates at the first bore 140. The second bore 152 and the first bore 140 meet at a junction 154, encompassed by the dashed rectangular shape. The second bore 152 also fluidically connects the second inlet 150 to the first bore 140. The second inlet 150 is configured to receive the second process gas and to direct this second process gas flow through the second bore 152, into the junction 154, and into the first bore 140. In some implementations, like in Figure 2, the second bore 152 is oriented perpendicular to the first bore 140.Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO

[0065] The first bore 140 also has a spiral surface 146 having a plurality of rotations around the center axis 142 for the length LI of the first bore 140. The spiral surface 146 also serves as an outward surface of the first bore 140. The spiral surface 146 extends radially inwards towards the center axis 142 and is closer to the center axis 142 than the outer bore surface 144. The rotations of the spiral surface 146 are offset from each other by a pitch 148 that is parallel to the center axis 142. A pitch may be considered the same as with threads. For example, the pitch may be considered the distance between the same point on two adjacent threads or two adjacent rotations of the spiral surface 146. As discussed below, the pitch 148 may be considered the distance RO1, which may be one circumferential rotation about the center axis 142 of a portion, like the portion 146A, of the spiral surface 146.

[0066] The spiral surface 146 is configured to cause the first process gas and the second process gas to swirl within the first bore 140 and mix together. This swirling includes the flow concurrently rotating around the center axis 142 in a spiral or twisting pattern, flowing down the first bore 140, and generating turbulence within the first bore 140. For example, as the first process gas flows through first inlet 136 and into the first bore 140, the spiral surface 146 causes the first process gas to swirl, such as twisting and turning about the first axis 142, within the first bore 140 and travel towards the outlet 38 while swirling. Similarly, as the second process gas flows through second inlet 150 and into the first bore 140, the spiral surface 146 causes the second process gas to swirl within the first bore 140 and cause swirling and turbulence to occur with the first and second process gases such that mixing of the first and second process gases occurs at and below the junction 154. As provided above, this is configuration provides rapid and lateral transport of one gas into another with the turbulence and swirling.

[0067] In some implementations, it was found that the number of rotations of the spiral surface affect the mixing of the process gases in the first bore 140. For example, it was found that by having at least two rotations of the spiral surface reduced nonuniformity of the material deposited on the wafer. In another example, it was found that by having three rotations of the spiral surface reduced nonuniformity of the material deposited on the wafer more than two rotations. In Figure 2, the spiral surfaceAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO146 has three rotations between the junction 154 and the outlet 138. Portions of three rotations 149A-149C are labeled in Figure 2. In some instances, as shown in Figure 2, the spiral surface 146 has no more than three rotations interposed between the outlet 138 and the junction 154.

[0068] Various features of the spiral surface are further illustrated in Figure 3 which depicts a magnified cross-sectional view of the mixer junction of Figure 2. Here in Figure 3, the cross-section is taken in a plane parallel to and along the center axis 142, and the cross-hatching of the body 130 has been removed for clarity. Several locations of the cross-sectional profile of the outer bore surface 144 are identified, with three shown with heavy weight lines and label 144A, and one section of the outer bore surface 144 spanning between two cross-sectional profiles 144A is shown with dark shading and labeled 144B. As can be seen, the outer bore surface 144 faces, and is parallel to, the center axis 142. As can be seen, these sliced portions of the surface 144A are linear and parallel, or substantially parallel (e.g., within 5% of parallel), to the center axis 142.

[0069] The spiral surface 146 is also shown in Figure 3, with two rotations partially visible due to the cross-sectional slice of the Figure. One portion of the spiral surface 146 is illustrated with light shading and one portion of the cross-sectional profile 146A of the spiral surface 146 is also highlighted with heavy line thickness and labeled 146A. The cross-sectional profile 146A has a first surface 156 that faces towards the first inlet 136 (not shown in this Figure), or upwards in the Figure, and that intersects with the outer bore surface 144 at a first corner 158. In some instances, this first surface 156 may be considered a top surface and the first corner 158 may be considered a top corner. The cross-sectional profile 146A also has a second surface 160 that faces towards the outlet 138 (not shown in this Figure), or downwards in the Figure, and that intersects with the outer bore surface 144 at a second corner 162. In some instances, this second surface 160 may be considered a bottom surface and the second corner 162 may be considered a bottom corner.

[0070] The cross-sectional profile 146A of the spiral surface 146 also has a centermost surface 164 that faces towards the center axis 142, and that intersects with, and spans between, the first surface 156 and the second surface 160. As can be seen, the centermost surface 164 is closer to the center axis 142 than the outer bore surfaceAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO144. In some implementations, like illustrated, the cross-sectional profile of the centermost surface 164 may be linear and may be parallel to the center axis 142. In some other implementations, the cross-sectional profile of the centermost surface 164 may again be linear, but it may be oriented in at a nonparallel angle with respect to the center axis 142, such as acute or obtuse. An acute angle may be considered an angle that measures less than 90 degrees and more than 0 degrees, and an obtuse angle considered an angle that measures less than 180 degrees and more than 90 degrees. In some implementations, the cross-sectional profile of the centermost surface 164 may be nonlinear, such as curved, concave, or convex with respect to the center axis 142.

[0071] As also seen in Figure 3, opposite portions of the centermost surface 164 in a direction perpendicular to, and intersecting with, the center axis 142 are offset from each other by a non-zero peak-to-peak distance 168. In some instances, this peak-to- peak distance 168 may affect the fluid flow through the first bore 140. For example, if this peak-to-peak distance is too large, then the pressure inside the first bore 140 will decrease which will decrease the mixing. If this distance is too small, then the pressure inside the first bore 140 will increase which will dilute the mixture of gases in the first bore 140 which will require longer gas flow times onto the wafer and increase throughput. This peak-to-peak distance 168 may range from about 7 millimeters to about 12 millimeters, including, for example, 8 millimeters, 8.5 millimeters, 9 millimeters, 9.5 millimeters, 10 millimeters, 10.5 millimeters, or 11 millimeters. A peak- to-peak distance may be considered the distance between the highest points, or peaks, of two threads on opposite sides of the center axis 142, or a direction perpendicular to the center axis 142. In some instances, this peak-to-peak distance may be considered the minor diameter of the spiral surface.

[0072] Additional or alternative features of the spiral surface are illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 depicts a magnified cross-sectional slice of a portion of the mixer junction of Figure 3. Here, the right side of the first bore and spiral surface of Figure 3 are shown, including the highlighted cross-sectional profile 146A of the spiral surface 146. At the first corner 158, the first surface 156 and the outer bore surface 144A form a first included angle 01. In some instances, the first included angle 01 may be considered a top included angle. At the second corner 162, the second surface 160 andAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO the outer bore surface 144A form a second included angle 02. In some instances, the second included angle 02 may be considered a bottom included angle. In some implementations, like shown in Figure 3, the first included angle 01 may be obtuse and range from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees, and the second included angle 02 may also be obtuse and range from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees.

[0073] As also shown in Figure 4, the centermost surface 164 intersects, and terminates at, the first surface 156 at a first edge 170 and intersects, and terminates at, the second surface 160 at a second edge 172. In some instances, this first edge 170 may be considered a top edge and the second edge 172 may be considered a bottom edge. In this illustration, the first and second edges 170 and 172 are sharp. At the first edge 170, the centermost surface 164 and the first surface 156 may form a first reflex angle 03 and at the second edge 172, the centermost surface 164 and the second surface 160 may form a second reflex angle 04. In some implementations, the first reflex angle 03 may range from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees, and the second reflex angle 04 may also range from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees.

[0074] Referring back to Figure 3, various edges of the spiral surface 146 and the outer bore surface 144 are identified. As provided herein, the spiral surface 146 is rotated around the center axis 142 with the rotations offset from each other by the pitch 148. In some instances, the spiral surface 146 may be considered to follow a single helical path or helical pathway. Given the configuration of the spiral surface 146, its surfaces and edges all rotate about the center axis 142. For example, one first edge 170 and one second edge 172 are identified in Figure 3 and they rotate around and the center axis 142 and in a direction parallel to the center axis. Similarly, the first corner 158 and the second corner 162 are also identified and they are seen rotated around the center axis 142 in a direction parallel to the center axis.

[0075] In some implementations, various edges and corners of the spiral surface may be rounded or have fillets. Having at least some rounded corners may advantageously prevent particle generation and reduce or prevent recirculation of the gases flowing in the first bore 140, in some instances. Figure 5 depicts a magnified cross-sectional slice of a portion of another implementation of a mixer junction. This portion of the mixer junction 504 in Figure 5 may be the same as that of Figures 2-5, but with notedAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO differences. Here in Figure 5, the corners and intersections of the outer bore surface and the spiral surface are rounded. For example, at the outer bore surface 544 intersection with the first surface 556, the first corner 558 is rounded with a radius Rl. Similarly, at the outer bore surface 544 intersection with the second surface 560, the second corner 562 is also rounded with the radius Rl. This rounding of the first and second corners 558 and 562 may be considered a concave fillet.

[0076] The first edge 570 at the intersection between the centermost surface 564 and the first surface 556 is also rounded with a radius R2. Similarly, second edge 572 at the intersection between the centermost surface 564 and the second surface 560 is also rounded with the radius R2. This rounding of the first and second edges 570 and 572 may be considered a fillet.

[0077] In some other implementations, the spiral may have a different cross-sectional profile than illustrated in Figures 2-5. For example, the first included angled 01 may be perpendicular and the second included angle 02 may be obtuse. In other implementations, the first included angle 01 may be obtuse and the second included angle 02 may be perpendicular or acute. Figure 6 depicts a magnified cross-sectional slice of a portion of yet another implementation of a mixer junction. This portion of the mixer junction 604 in Figure 6 may be the same as that of Figures 2-5, but with noted differences. Here in Figure 6, the cross-sectional profile of the spiral surface 646 has a triangular shape. For example, the first surface 656 is perpendicular to the outer bore surface 644, the second surface 660 is obtuse with respect to the outer bore surface 644, and the centermost surface 664 is an edge formed at the intersection of the second surface 660 and the first surface 662. The first included angle 01 at the first corner 658 is perpendicular and the second included angle 02 at the second corner 662 is obtuse. The centermost surface 664 is an edge or point, and at this intersection between the first surface 656 and the second surface 660, a reflex angle is formed 03 that may range from about 285 degrees to about 330 degrees, ins some instances.

[0078] As provided herein, the center of the first bore is clear and without any structure positioned therein. For example, referring back to Figures 2 and 3, the first bore 140 does not have any structure or surface positioned radially inwards of the spiral surface 146, including the centermost surface 164 of the spiral surface 164. Figure 8Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO depicts a cross-sectional slice of the mixer junction of Figure 2. Here in Figure 8 the cross-sectional plane is the same as in Figure 2 which is along the center axis 142, and the cross-hatching has been removed for clarity. As can be seen, the first bore 140 is clear of, free from, and without, any structures radially inwards of the spiral surface 146 and the centermost surface 164. In some implementations, the first bore 140 may have a central cylindrical region 174 that is defined at least in part by the centermost surface 164 and that is free of any structure. The outer diameter of the central cylindrical region 174 may have the same diameter as the peak-to-peak distance 168.

[0079] In some instances, other mixing structures may use static mixing structures interposed within a central region of the first bore 140, such as a helical mixer (which is fundamentally different than a spiral surface following a helical shape as provided herein), and it was found that while some helical mixers may have some advantages, they have disadvantages for some processes. For example, it was found that some helical mixers resulted in a large pressure drop which adversely affected the flow therethrough. In some examples, the large pressure drop diluted the mixture of gases in the bore which decreased the concentration of constituents in the gas which thereby required longer gas flow times onto the wafer and increased throughput.

[0080] In Figure 8, the second bore 152 is also illustrated. As provided above, the second bore 152 extends through the outside bore surface 144. In some implementations, as illustrated here, the second bore 152 extends into the first bore 140 in-between at least two rotations of the spiral surface 146. In some instances, one rotation of the spiral surface 146, identified with label 146B, is positioned within the junction 154, and offset and opposite of the second bore 152. This positioning of the second bore 152 and first bore 140 may be configured to cause desired turbulence within the first bore 140 and cause the second process gas flowing through the second bore 152 and into the first bore 140 to swirl and mix with the first process gas flowing through the first bore 140.

[0081] Referring back to Figures 3 and 4, the cross-sectional profile 146A of the spiral surface 146 may be considered swept around the center axis 142 and axially offset by the pitch 148 along the axis to create the spiral surface 146. Each 360-degree sweep of the spiral surface 146 around the center axis 142 may be considered one rotation. InAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WOFigure 3 for example, one rotation spans between each pitch 148 such that one rotation is also represented by item 148 and labeled RO1. A second rotation RO2 is also labeled therein. In another example, the shaded portion 146 in Figure 3 illustrates one half of a rotation. In some implementations, the pitch may range from about 7 millimeters to about 12 millimeters, including, for example, 8 millimeters, 8.5 millimeters, 9 millimeters, 9.5 millimeters, 10 millimeters, 10.5 millimeters, or 11 millimeters. Again referring back to Figures 2 and 8, three rotations 149A-149C are interposed between the junction 154 and the outlet 138 which may provide various advantages as provided herein.

[0082] In some instances, the spiral surface 146 may be considered to follow a single helical path or pathway, and is not considered a helical mixer. Figure 7 depicts an example pathway and spiral surface. Here, and x-y-z coordinate system is shown along with a three-dimensional helix shape 776, or helical pathway 776, rotating around the z- axis and shown with a dashed line. With respect to the mixer junction 104, the z-axis may represent the center axis 142 such that the helix 776 rotates around the z-axis, is offset from itself in the z-direction by an offset distance such as the peak-to-peak distance 168, and extends along the z-axis for a height. A representation of the cross- sectional profile 146A of the spiral surface 146 is also illustrated. As provide herein, the spiral surface 146 may be considered to follow the helical shape or pathway inside the first bore 140.

[0083] The configuration of the first bore and spiral surface may also be considered internal threading of the first bore 140. The outer diameter OD1 of the outer bore surface 144 may be considered the major diameter of the threading and the peak-to- peak distance 168 may be considered the minor diameter.

[0084] Figure 9 provides an example flow diagram of the mixer junction. This Figures shows the negative space formed within the inlet, first and second bores, and outlet of the mixer junction. The first process gas 182 flows through the inlet 136 and into and through the first bore 140. The spiral surface 146 causes the first process gas 182 to swirl within the first bore 140. The second process gas 184 flows through the second bore 152, into the junction 154, and into the portion 155 of the first bore 140 downstream of the junction 154. The spiral surface 146 also causes the second processAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO gas 184 to swirl and cause turbulence to form with the first and second process gases 182 and 184, thereby causing them to mix in the three rotations of the spiral surface 146 downstream of the junction 154. The mixing of the first and second process gases 182 and 184 can be seen as they flow out of the outlet and towards a showerhead.

[0085] In some implementations, a showerhead stem may have the spiral surface provided herein as part of its central bore. This configuration may be in addition to, or alternatively to, the use of the mixer junction provided herein. A showerhead stem may be a long, straight tube that is a fluid conduit allowing process gases to flow therein to the showerhead body and internal plenum inside the processing chamber. The showerhead stem may extend outside and above the processing chamber for a stem length. Many conventional showerhead stems have an internal central bore that is smooth. In the implementations provided herein, the showerhead internal central bore may have the spiral surface provided above along at least some of its stem length in order to provide gas mixing within the showerhead stem.

[0086] Figure 10 depicts an example showerhead with a mixer portion. The showerhead 1006 may have the same or similar features as provided above for showerhead 106. The showerhead 1006 has a showerhead body 1086 having at least one internal plenum 1088 and a plurality of through-holes 1090 that are fluidically connected to the at least one internal plenum 1088. The at least one internal plenum 1088 and the showerhead body 1086 are configured to receive process gases from the showerhead stem 1092. Here, the showerhead stem 1092 has a stem body 1089 with a stem inlet 1091, a stem outlet 1093 downstream of the stem inlet 1091, a stem length SL1 and a central bore 1094 that extends for the stem length SL1 from the stem inlet 1091 to the stem outlet 1093. Similar to the mixer junction above, the central bore 1094 fluidically connects the stem inlet 1091 to the stem outlet 1093, has an outer bore surface 1044 parallel to the center axis 1042, and has a mixing portion 1096 with a spiral surface 1046.

[0087] In the mixing portion 1096, the central bore 1094 of the stem 1092 may be configured the same as the first bore 140 provided above. For example, the spiral surface 1046 may have a cross-sectional profile with the first surface, second surface, and centermost surface spanning between the first and second surfaces. The spiralAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO surface 1046 also has a plurality of rotations about the center axis 1042 of the showerhead stem 1092 and each rotation is offset by the pitch 1048. For the sake of brevity, it shall be understood that the spiral surface 1046 of the showerhead stem 1092 may have some, any, or all of the features of the spiral surface provided herein. The spiral surface 1046 may be configured to cause turbulence of gases in the central bore and to cause the gases therein to swirl and mix. For example, the spiral surface 1046 of the showerhead stem 1092 may have some, any, or all, of the features discussed above and shown with the magnified cross-sectional views of Figures 3-6. In some instances, the magnified cross-sectional views of Figures 3-6 may be considered that of the showerhead stem 1092.

[0088] In some implementations, only a portion of the showerhead stem has the spiral surface 1046, as illustrated in Figure 10. In some instances, this portion having the spiral surface 1046 may be in between the stem inlet 1091 and the stem outlet 1093, adjacent to the stem inlet 1091, or adjacent to the stem outlet 1093. In some other implementations, the spiral surface 1046 may be along the whole length SL1 of the showerhead stem 1092.

[0089] In some implementations, the mixer junction, which may also be referred to herein synonymously as a mixing manifold, may be configured in a similar, but different, manner than provided herein above. For example, the mixing junction may have a spiral surface like described herein along with other gas passages. Some such mixing junctions may have a first passage that extends through a body of the mixing junction and has a first passage portion extending from the first inlet to a junction portion, a spiral portion having a spiral surface downstream of the junction portion, and a second portion interposed between the spiral portion and the outlet of the mixing manifold. The spiral portion may be interposed between the junction portion and the second passage portion. The spiral portion may also have a spiral surface configured like any of the spiral surfaces provided herein. The mixing junction may also have a second passage spanning through the body from a second inlet to the junction portion. Process chemistry may be configured to flow through the first inlet into and through the first passage portion and into the junction portion. Similarly, process chemistry may be configured to flow through the second inlet into and through the second passage andAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO into the junction portion. From the junction portion, the process chemistry flows through the spiral portion, then through the second passage portion of the first passage and out of the outlet towards the showerhead.

[0090] In some cases, the mixing junction may have a valve interface having a third inlet and positioned on a side of the mixing junction body. The second passage may be f luidica lly connected to the third inlet, or port, such that process chemistry may be flowed into the second passage through the port. In some cases, when a valve is interfaced with the valve interface, fluid may flow through the second passage from the second inlet to the junction portion regardless of whether the valve is open or closed. In some other cases, the valve may regulate fluid flow through the second passage such that fluid may not flow through the second passage from the second inlet to the junction portion when the valve is closed.

[0091] Figure 12 depicts a cross-sectional side view of another example mixer junction. Here, the mixer junction 1204, which may also be considered a mixing manifold, may have a body 1230 with a first end 1232, a second end 1234 opposite the first end 1232, and a side 1233 that may be between the first end 1232 and the second end 1234. The mixer junction 1204 also has a first inlet 1236 at the first end 1232, a second inlet 1250 which in this example is also positioned on the first end 1232, and an outlet 1238 on the second end 1234. In some cases, the second inlet 1250 may be positioned on the side 1233. The outlet 1238 may be fluidically connected to a showerhead, similar to described herein, such as a chandelier or a flush mount style showerhead. The mixer junction 1204 also has a first passage 1251 that extends through the body 1230 from the first inlet 1236 to the outlet 1238. This first passage 1251 also spans between, and fluidically connects, the first inlet 1236 to the outlet 1238.

[0092] The first passage 1251 has a plurality of portions with various features configured to cause advantageous effects, such as promoting mixing of chemistries, improving purging of the mixer junction, and reducing unwanted pressure drop. For example, the first passage 1251 includes a first passage portion 1253, a junction portion 1254, a spiral portion 1257, and a second passage portion 1259. The first passage 1251 may also be considered a first bore, similar to that provided herein. Like illustrated inAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WOFigure 12, the first passage 1251 may extend along a first axis 1241 that is parallel to the center axis of the body 1230. In some cases, the first axis 1241 may be the same as, or colinear with, the center axis of the body 1230. In some cases, the first axis 1241 may be offset from the center axis of the body 1230. The mixer junction 1204 further has a second passage 1252 that extends between, and fluidically connects, the second inlet1250 and the junction portion 1254.

[0093] The first passage portion 1253 of the first passage 1251 may have a cylindrical shape with an inner diameter ID1 that is constant. The first passage portion 1253 spans between, and fluidically connects the first inlet 1236 and the junction portion 1254. In some cases, the first passage portion 1253 may define, or partially define, the first inlet 1236. The first passage portion 1253 also terminates at the junction portion 1254.

[0094] Regarding the junction portion 1254 (encircled in Figures 14A and 14B), it is fluidically downstream of the first passage portion 1253 such that process chemistry is configured to flow from the first inlet 1236 through the first passage portion 1253 and into the junction portion 1254. In some implementations, the junction portion 1254 may have a cylindrical surface 1261 that at least partially defines the junction portion 1254. The cylindrical surface 1261 may have a center axis colinear with the first axis 1241, and may have a second inner diameter ID2. In some cases, the first inner diameter ID1 is less than the second inner diameter ID2, like shown. In some other cases, the first inner diameter ID1 is equal to the second inner diameter ID2. In some implementations, the second passage 1252 may extend through the cylindrical surface 1261. As also shown, in some implementations, the junction portion 1254 may have a frustoconical surface 1263 that spans between the cylindrical surface 1254 and the first passage portion 1253. The frustoconical surface 1263 may provide various advantages, such as causing gas flowing into the junction portion 1264 from the first passage portion 1253 to expand and reduce its flowrate and thereby promote mixing with other chemistries.

[0095] As further illustrated in Figure 12, the spiral portion 1257 of the first passage1251 is fluidically downstream of the junction portion 1254. Here, the junction portion 1254 is interposed between the first passage portion 1253 and the spiral portion 1257, and the spiral portion 1257 is interposed between the junction portion 1254 and theAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO second passage portion 1259. The spiral portion 1257 may be configured the same as, or similar to, the first bore and the spiral surface provided herein. For example, this spiral portion 1257, which may be considered the first bore like first bore 120, has an outer bore surface 1244 parallel to the first axis 1241 and a spiral surface 1246 having a plurality of rotations around the first axis 1241 for the length L3 of the spiral portion 1257. The spiral surface 1246 also serves as an outward surface of the spiral portion 1257. The outer bore surface 1244 and the spiral surface 1246 may be the same as or similar to any outer bore surface, such as surface 124, and any spiral surface, such as spiral surface 126, shown in Figures 2-9.

[0096] For example, like provided herein, the spiral surface 1246 extends radially inwards towards the first axis 1241 and is closer to the first axis 1241 than the outer bore surface 1244. The spiral surface may also have the outer diameter OD1 and an inner spiral diameter 1268 which may be considered the offset between opposite portions of the centermost surface 1264 of the spiral surface 1246 in a direction perpendicular to, and intersecting with, the first axis 1241. In some implementations, the outer diameter OD1 of the outer bore surface 1244 may be equal to the second inner diameter ID2 of the cylindrical surface 1261 of the junction portion 1254. In some other cases, the outer diameter OD1 of the outer bore surface 1244 may be greater than or less than the second inner diameter ID2 of the cylindrical surface 1261 of the junction portion 1254. These various configurations may promote swirling of the gases, such as increasing gas flowrates and increase turbulence, through the spiral portion 1257, as well as decreasing unwanted pressure drop of the chemistry flow through the mixer junction 1204. Similarly, the inner spiral diameter 1268 may be equal to the first inner diameter ID1 of the first passage portion 1253 which may advantageously reduce pressure drop of the chemistry flow. Reducing the pressure drop may lead to various advantages, such as preventing or reducing unwanted condensation of the process chemistry, and causing uniform flow, mixing, and purging withing the mixer junction 1204. In some implementations, the inner spiral diameter 1268 may range between about 7 mm to about 12 mm.

[0097] The rotations of the spiral surface 1246 are offset from each other by a pitch 1248 that is parallel to the first axis 1241. In some implementations, the spiral surfaceAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO1246 may have at least two rotations, such as at least two rotations between the junction portion 1254 and the second passage portion 1259. As illustrated in Figure 12, in some instances the spiral surface 1246 may have only two rotations. In some other instances, the spiral surface 1246 may have more than two rotations, such as three rotations or four rotations. Like described above, the spiral surface 1246 is configured to cause swirling and mixing of process chemistries flowing therethrough.

[0098] Although not illustrated in Figure 12, the spiral surface 1246 and outer bore surface 1244 may be further configured like provided herein, including like shown in Figures 3-6. For instance, the spiral surface 1246 may have a cross-sectional profile perpendicular to the first axis 1241 which has a first surface, like first surface 156 and 556 in Figures 3-6, facing the first inlet 1236 and intersecting the outer bore surface 1244 at a first corner, like first corner 158 and 558, the first corner forming a first included angle like 01. The cross-sectional profile also has a second surface, like second surface 160 and 560, facing the outlet 1238 and intersecting the outer bore surface 1244 at a second corner, like second corner 162 and 562, the second corner forming a second included angle like 02. These first and second corners may be rounded. In some cases, the first and second included angles may range between about 95 degrees and about 160 degrees, the first surface and the centermost surface form a first reflex angle, and the second surface and the centermost surface form a second reflex angle, with the first and second reflex angles ranging from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees. Similarly, the spiral surface may follow a helical pathway around the first axis, like shown in Figure 7. The first passage 1251 may also be without any structures radially inwards of the spiral surface towards the first axis.

[0099] As further shown in Figure 12, the first passage 1251 includes a second passage portion 1259 that extends between, and fluidically connects, the outlet 1238 and the junction portion 1257. Here, the second passage portion at least partially defines the outlet 1238 and terminates at the spiral portion 1257. The process chemistry flowing from the spiral portion 1257 flows into the second passage portion 1259 and towards and out the outlet 1238. The second passage portion 1259 may have a cylindrical shape or surface with a constant third inner diameter ID3. In some implementations, the third inner diameter ID3 of the second passage portion 1259 mayAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO be greater than or equal to the outer diameter OD1 of the outer bore surface 1244. In some instances, having the third inner diameter ID3 greater than or equal to the outer diameter OD1 may result in flowing the flowrate of chemistry flowing out of the spiral portion 1257 which may promote mixing of process chemistries and reduce unwanted pressure drops.

[0100] Referring now to the second passage 1252, it may be configured in various manners. In Figure 12, the second passage 1252 has a third passage portion 1265, encircled with a dashed rectangle, that terminates at the junction portion 1254. This third passage portion 1265 may be oriented at a second direction D2 which is perpendicular to the first axis 1241. In some cases, like in Figure 12, the second passage 1252 also has a fourth portion 1267 that terminates at the second inlet 1250 and is parallel to the first axis 1241. The mixer junction 1204 may also have a third inlet 1269 on the side 1233 of the body 1230 and fluidically connected by a third passage 1271 to the second passage 1252. The third inlet 1269 may be configured to receive cleaning gases for cleaning and purging the mixer manifold.

[0101] In some other implementations, the mixer junction may have a valve interface on the side of the body. Figure 13 depicts a cross-sectional side view of yet another example mixer manifold. This mixer manifold 1304 of Figure 13 is the same as mixer manifold 1204 of Figure 12 with noted differences. Here, the second passage 1352 and side 1333 are configured differently than in Figure 12. For example, the side 1333 has a valve interface 1373 with a third inlet 1369 and is configured to be interfaced, or engaged, with a valve. The third inlet 1369 is fluidically connected to the second passage 1352. Here, the second passage 1352 has a fifth passage portion 1365 that extends in the second direction D2 and terminates at the junction portion 1254. The fifth passage portion 1365 also spans between the junction portion 1254 and the third inlet 1369. The second passage 1352 further includes a sixth passage portion 1367 that spans between the second inlet 1250 and the third inlet 1369. Process chemistry is configured to flow from the second inlet 1250 through the sixth passage portion 1367 of the second passage 1352, towards and to the third inlet 1369, and then through the fifth passage portion 1365 to the junction portion 1254. Here, the third inlet 1369 is interposed between along the second passage 1352. In some implementations, likeAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO shown here, the fifth passage portion 1365 and the sixth passage portion 1367 also may terminate at each other and form a fluidic connection with each other independent of the third inlet 1369.

[0102] The configuration of the mixer junction 1304 shown in Figure 13 advantageously provides for the third inlet 1369 to be fluidically connected to the second passage 1352 while eliminating an unwanted dead volume between the third inlet and the second passage. The mixer junctions 1204 and 1304 also advantageously provide chemistry flow from the second passage into the junction portion 1254 that is transverse, or perpendicular to, the chemistry flowing through the first passage portion 1253 into the junction portion 1257. Figure 14A depicts the cross-sectional side view of Figure 13 with exemplary gas flows. For clarity, the cross-hatching and some labels have been removed. Here, a first process chemistry represented by arrows Al is flowed through the first inlet 1236 and first passage portion 1253, and into the first junction portion 1254, encircled by a dotted shape, in a first direction parallel to the center axis 1241. This first chemistry Al is also configured to expand radially outwards within the junction portion and slow its flowrate. A second process chemistry represented by arrows A2 is flowed through the second inlet 1250 and the fifth passage portion 1365 in the second direction transverse to the first direction, or first axis 1241.

[0103] By flowing these process chemistries in these transverse directions into the junction portion 1254, along with the spiral surface of the spiral portion 1257, the two process chemistries are configured to mix with each other and provide a sufficiently mixed, or relatively homogenous mixture, within the second passage portion 1259 of the first passage 1251 and into the showerhead inlet. Additionally, the configuration of mixer junction 1304 eliminates a dead leg in the first and second passages 1251 and 1352 such that flowing purge gas through these passages is able to reach the various aspects of the passages and remove unwanted materials and gases therein. Although not shown in Figure 14A, mixer junction 1204 is also configured similarly to cause transverse flows into the junction portion 1254 upstream of the spiral portion 1257.

[0104] Figure 14B depicts the cross-sectional side view of Figure 13 with other exemplary gas flows. Here, a third process chemistry, such as a cleaning gas or reactant species, represented by gray arrows A3 is flowed through the third port 1369. This thirdAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO can advantageously be flowed into the second passage 1352 without requiring a dead leg that is difficult to clean and purge.

[0105] In some implementations, the mixer junction may have also have temperature control related features, such as heaters flowpaths for flowing heat transfer fluid, such as a coolant. Referring back to Figure 12, as the mixer manifold 1204 may have a heat transfer flowpath 1275 extending through the body 1230 between the first end 1232 and the second end 1234. This heat transfer flowpath 1275 may be configured to receive a fluid, such as a liquid coolant or gas coolant like cool dry air (CDA), that may be flowed through the heat transfer flowpath 1275 and control a temperature of the mixer junction 1204, such as cool it, heat it, or maintain its temperature at a first temperature or first temperature range. These temperatures may range from about 50 °C to about 200 °C in some cases. The heat transfer flowpath 1275 may be fluidically isolated, or fluidically separate, from the other flow passages in the mixer junction 1204. The mixer junction 1304 may also have this heat transfer flowpath 1275, although not shown here.

[0106] The various process chemistries flowed through the first and second inlets 1236 and 1250 may differ, including differing between phases of processing. In some cases, the first process chemistry flowed through the first inlet 1236 and first passage portion 1253 into the junction portion 1254 may be a reactant, or a mixture having a reactant such as NH3, H2, or a combination thereof. The second chemistry flowed through the second inlet 1250 and second passage 1252, or 1352, into the junction portion 1254 may be a precursor, or a mixture having a precursor, such as a precursor and an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen. In some cases, the precursor may be a molybdenum-containing precursor. In some implementations, the first process chemistry flowed through the first inlet 1236 may be a precursor, or a mixture having a precursor, such as a precursor and an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen. In some cases, the precursor may be a molybdenum-containing precursor, and the second process chemistry flowed through the second inlet 1250 may be a reactant, or a mixture having a reactant such as NH3, H2, or a combination thereof.

[0107] In some implementations, the clean gas, such as one or more reactive species generated by a remote plasma source may be flowed into the third inlet 1269 or 1369Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO which causes the cleaning gas to flow through the second passage 1252 or 1352, into the junction portion 1254, through the spiral portion 1257, through the second passage portion 1259, and out the outlet 1238 to the showerhead.

[0108] In some implementations, the mixer manifolds 404, 1204, and 1304 may be utilized in association with a substrate processing operation, such as an ALD process. In this manner, feed the mixer manifolds 404, 1204, and 1304 may be configured to mix at least two of one or more gases, one or more precursors, one or more reactant species, and / or the like prior to introducing the mixture to a showerhead.

[0109] For example, during a dose phase of an ALD process, one or more first gases (e.g., Ar + H2) may be flowed into the first inlet 1236 with a first mass flow rate and one or more second gases (e.g., Ar + NH3) may also be flowed into the first inlet 1236 with a second mass flow rate. In some cases, the second mass flow rate may be smaller than the first mass flow rate.

[0110] During the pre-RF purge phase, purge gas (e.g., Ar) may be flowed into the first inlet 1236 and the second inlet 1250, and in some implementations, purge gas may also be flowed into the third inlet 1269 or 1369. The purge gas introduced into first inlet 1236 may at least purge the first passage portion 1253. The purge gas introduced into the second inlet 1250 may purge the second passage 1252 and 1352. Both of these purge gas flows may purge at least the junction portion 1254, spiral portion 1257, and second passage portion 1259. The cross-flow of the purge gas from the first passage portion 1253 and the second passage 1252 and 1352, along with the spiral portion 1257, may increase the swirling and turbulence of the purge gas in the junction portion 1254, spiral portion 1257, and second passage portion 1259 to effectively purge the first and second passages 1251 and 1252 and 1352.

[0111] In some implementations, as part of the conversion phase, dilution gas (e.g., Ar) may be flowed into the first inlet 1236 and a precursor (e.g., a molybdenum- containing precursor) entrained in a carrier gas (e.g., Ar) may be flowed into the second inlet 1250. In some other implementations, as part of the conversion phase, dilution gas (e.g., Ar) may be flowed into the second inlet 1250 and a precursor (e.g., a molybdenum-containing precursor) entrained in a carrier gas (e.g., Ar) may be flowed into the first inlet 1236. In some aspects, reactive species (e.g., fluorine radicals) of orAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO from disassociated clean gas(es) generated by a remote plasma source may also be flowed into the third gas inlet 1269 and 1369 which flows into the second passage 1252 and 1352.

[0112] With reference to Figure 14A, as the precursor entrained in the carrier gas represented as arrows A2 flows from the second passage 1352 into the junction portion 1254, a reactive species that may be input to first inlet 1236 and flowed into the first passage portion 1253 and junction portion 1254. The flow of these reactive species, Al, collides with the transverse flow of the precursor and carrier flow, A2. These transverse flows, junction portion, and spiral portion 1257 cause the reactive species and the precursor to mix.

[0113] After the conversion phase, a post-RF purge phase may be performed similar to the pre-RF purge phase. To avoid obscuring aspects described herein, a duplicative explanation of the flow of the purge gas in association with the post-RF purge phase will be omitted.

[0114] Using the mixer junctions described herein resulted in advantageous and unexpected results. In one experiment, a first plurality of wafers underwent material deposition in a processing station without the mixer junction provided herein and a second plurality of wafers underwent material deposition in another processing station with the mixer junction provided herein. For the wafers processed in both processing stations, material thickness measurements were made at 69 azimuthal points around the center axis of the wafer and averaged to create a single azimuthal thickness percentage nonuniformity, or %NU, for each wafer. This data is illustrated in Figure 11 which depicts a line graph of experimental average deposition thicknesses percentage nonuniformity for two pluralities of wafers. Here, each data point is the %NU, or averaged azimuthal material thickness percentage of nonuniformity taken over 69 points, for one wafer. The first plurality of wafers (a total of 16 wafers in the depicted example) were processed without the mixer junction and the results are shown in a solid line. These wafers have an average azimuthal material thickness percentage nonuniformity between 5 %NU and 6 %NU. The second plurality of wafers (a total of 16 wafers in the depicted example) were processed with the mixer junction and the results are shown in a dashed line. These wafers have an average azimuthal material thicknessAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO percentage nonuniformity between about 2 %NU and 1.75 %NU. As can be seen, the use of the mixer junction resulted in significant reduction of azimuthal nonuniformity, such as by at least half or two thirds.

[0115] In a second experiment, a first set of four wafers underwent concurrent material deposition in four processing stations, respectively, all in the same chamber and all four stations did not have the mixer junction provided herein. A second set of four wafers underwent concurrent material deposition in four processing stations, respectively, all in the same chamber and all four stations did not have the mixer junction provided herein. As with the first experiment, azimuthal material thickness measurements were made at 69 points around the center axis of the wafer and averaged to create a single azimuthal thickness percentage nonuniformity, or %NU, for each wafer. This data is illustrated in Figure 12 which depicts a bar graph of experimental average deposition thickness percentage nonuniformity for the two sets of four wafers. Here, each data point is the %NU, or averaged azimuthal material thickness percentage of nonuniformity taken over 69 points, for one wafer.

[0116] The first set of four wafers were processed without the mixer junction in any of the four stations and the results are shown with a white bar. As can be seen, the wafer in the first station has azimuthal nonuniformity over 6 %NU, the wafer in the second station has azimuthal nonuniformity close to 4 %NU, the wafer in the third station has azimuthal nonuniformity close to 4 %NU, and the wafer in the fourth station has azimuthal nonuniformity over 5 %NU. The second set of four wafers were concurrently processed with the mixer junction in each of the four stations and the results are shown with a cross-hatched bar. As can be seen, the wafer in the first station has azimuthal nonuniformity of about 1 %NU, the wafer in the second station has azimuthal nonuniformity close to 4 %NU, the wafer in the third station has azimuthal nonuniformity close to and less than 2 %NU, and the wafer in the fourth station has azimuthal nonuniformity close to and less than 2 %NU. These results show that the mixer junction reduces nonuniformity of each wafer as well as reduces station-to- station nonuniformity. For instance, the azimuthal nonuniformities for the second set of four wafers are closer to each other than the first set of four wafers.

[0117] It may be appreciated that a plurality of process stations may be included in aAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO multi-station processing tool environment, such as shown in Figure 11, which depicts a schematic view of an embodiment of a multi-station processing tool. Processing apparatus 1100 employs an integrated circuit fabrication chamber 1163 that includes multiple fabrication process stations, each of which may be used to perform processing operations on a substrate held in a wafer holder, such as a pedestal, at a particular process station. In the embodiment of Figure 11, the integrated circuit fabrication chamber 1163 is shown having four process stations 1151process stations 1151, 1152, 1153, and 1154. Other similar multi-station processing apparatuses may have more or fewer process stations depending on the implementation and, for example, a desired level of parallel wafer processing, size / space constraints, cost constraints, etc. Also shown in Figure 11 is substrate handler robot 1175, which may operate under the control of system controller 1190controller 1190, configured to move substrates from a wafer cassette (not shown in Figure 11) from loading port 1180 and into integrated circuit fabrication chamber 1163, and onto one of process stations 1151, 1152, 1153, and 1154.

[0118] Figure 11 also depicts an embodiment of a system controller 1190controller 1190 employed to control process conditions and hardware states of processing apparatus 1100. System controller 1190controller 1190 may include one or more memory devices, one or more mass storage devices, and one or more processors, as described herein.

[0119] RF subsystem 1195 may generate and convey RF power to integrated circuit fabrication chamber 1163 via radio frequency input ports 1167. In particular embodiments, integrated circuit fabrication chamber 1163 may comprise input ports in addition to radio frequency input ports 1167 (additional input ports not shown in Figure 11). Accordingly, integrated circuit fabrication chamber 1163 may utilize 8 RF input ports. In particular embodiments, process stations 1151-1154 of integrated circuit fabrication chamber 165 may each utilize first and second input ports in which a first input port may convey a signal having a first frequency and in which a second input port may convey a signal having a second frequency. Use of dual frequencies may bring about enhanced plasma characteristics.

[0120] Each of the process stations 1151-1154 may have the mixer junction orAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO showerhead stem with the mixing portion having the spiral surface, as provided herein.

[0121] In some implementations, a controller 1190 is part of a system, which may be part of the above-described examples. Such systems can include semiconductor processing equipment, including a processing tool or tools, chamber or chambers, a platform or platforms for processing, and / or specific processing components (a wafer pedestal, a gas flow system, etc.). These systems may be integrated with electronics for controlling their operation before, during, and 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. The controller 1190, 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), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, radio frequency (RF) generator settings in some systems, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, positional and operation settings, wafer transfers into and out of a tool and other transfer tools and / or load locks connected to or interfaced with a specific system.

[0122] Broadly speaking, the controller 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 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 execute program instructions (e.g., software). Program instructions may be instructions communicated to the controller 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 dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and / or dies of a wafer.

[0123] The controller, in some implementations, may be a part of or coupled to aAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO computer that is integrated with, coupled to the system, otherwise networked to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, the controller may be in the "cloud" or all or a part of a fab host computer system, which can allow for remote access of the 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 should 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, the controller may be distributed, such as by comprising 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.

[0124] 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 ALD chamber or module, an ALE chamber or module, an ion implantation chamber or module, a track chamber or module, and any other semiconductor processing systems that may be associated or used in the fabrication and / or manufacturing of semiconductor wafers.Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO

[0125] As noted above, depending on the process step or steps to be performed by the tool, the controller 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, 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.

[0126] Unless otherwise specified, the illustrated implementations are to be understood as providing example features of varying detail of some implementations. 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.

[0127] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing some implementations and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms, "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is to be understood that the phrases "for each <item> of the one or more <items>," "each <item> of the one or more <items>," and / or the like, if used herein, are inclusive of both a single-item group and multiple-item groups, i.e., the phrase "for . . . each" is used in the sense that it is used in programming languages to refer to each item of whatever population of items is referenced. For example, if the population of items referenced is a single item, then "each" would refer to only that single item (despite dictionary definitions of "each" frequently defining the term to refer to "every one of two or more things") and would not imply that there must be at least two of those items. Similarly, the term "set" or "subset" should not be viewed, in itself, as necessarily encompassing a plurality of items— it is to be understood that a set or a subset can encompass only one member or multiple members (unless the context indicates otherwise). The terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO 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.

[0128] 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 implementation 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.

[0129] 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 oneAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO 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 is fluidically 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.

[0130] 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.

[0131] 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 ordinalAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO 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.

[0132] 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.

[0133] 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.

[0134] 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 electricallyAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO 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.

[0135] As used herein, the singular forms, "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is also to be understood that the phrases "for each <item> of the one or more <items>," "each <item> of the one or more <items>," and / or the like, if used herein, are inclusive of both a single-item group and multiple-item groups, i.e., the phrase "for . . . each" is used in the sense that it is used in programming languages to refer to each item of whatever population of items is referenced. For example, if the population of items referenced is a single item, then "each" would refer to only that single item (despite dictionary definitions of "each" frequently defining the term to refer to "every one of two or more things") and would not imply that there must be at least two of those items. Similarly, the term "set" or "subset" should not be viewed, in itself, as necessarily encompassing a plurality of items— it is to be understood that a set or a subset can encompass only one member or multiple members (unless the context indicates otherwise). In addition, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0136] Various implementations are described herein with reference to sectional views, isometric views, perspective views, plan views, and / or exploded illustrations that are schematic depictions of idealized implementations 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, implementations 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,Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO 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.

[0137] 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.

[0138] As customary in the field, some implementations are described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in terms of functional blocks, units, and / or modules. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these blocks, units, and / or modules are physically implemented by electronic (or optical) circuits, such as logic circuits, discrete components, microprocessors, hard-wired circuits, memory elements, wiring connections, and the like, which may be formed using semiconductor-based fabrication techniques or other manufacturing technologies. In the case of the blocks, units, and / or modules being implemented by microprocessors or other similar hardware, they may be programmed and controlled using software (e.g., microcode) to perform various functions discussed herein and may optionally be driven by firmware and / or software. It is also contemplated that each block, unit, and / or module may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or as a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions and a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry) to perform other functions. Also, each block, unit, and / or module of some implementations 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 implementations may be physically combined into more complex blocks, units, and / or modules without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.

[0139] Although the foregoing implementations 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 beAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the processes, systems, and apparatuses of the disclosed implementations. Accordingly, implementations are to be considered as illustrative and not as restrictive, and implementations are not to be limited to the details given herein.

[0140] It is to be 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, the above disclosure is directed to at least, but not exclusively, the following numbered implementations.

[0141] Implementation 1: A mixer junction for semiconductor processing, the mixer junction comprising: a body having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a first side; a first inlet at the first end; a second inlet at the first end or the first side; an outlet at the second end; a first passage extending through the body from the first inlet to the outlet along a first axis parallel to a center axis of the body, fluidically connecting the first inlet to the outlet, having a junction portion, a first passage portion extending from the first inlet to the junction portion, a spiral portion, and a second passage portion interposed between the spiral portion and the outlet; and a second passage extending from the second inlet to the junction portion of the first bore, terminating at the junction portion, and fluidically connecting the second inlet to the first bore, wherein: the spiral portion has an outer bore surface parallel to the first axis and a spiral surface with a plurality of rotations around the first axis for a first length of the first passage, the spiral surface is radially inwards of the outer bore surface with respect to the first axis, the rotations of the spiral surface are offset from each other by a pitch parallel to the first axis, andAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO the spiral surface has at least two rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction portion.

[0142] Implementation 2. The mixer junction of implementation 1, wherein: the first passage portion has a first inner diameter, the junction portion comprises a junction cylindrical surface that has a second inner diameter, the outer bore surface has an outer diameter, and the second passage portion has a third inner diameter.

[0143] Implementation 3. The mixer junction of implementation 2, wherein the first inner diameter is less than the second inner diameter.

[0144] Implementation 4. The mixer junction of implementation 3, wherein the junction portion further comprises a frustoconical surface spanning between the first passage portion and the junction cylindrical surface.

[0145] Implementation 5. The mixer junction of implementation 2, wherein the first inner diameter is equal to the second inner diameter.

[0146] Implementation 6. The mixer junction of implementation 2, wherein the second inner diameter is equal to the outer diameter.

[0147] Implementation 7. The mixer junction of implementation 6, wherein the outer diameter is equal to the third inner diameter.

[0148] Implementation 8. The mixer junction of implementation 2, wherein the outer diameter is less than or equal to the third inner diameter.

[0149] Implementation 9. The mixer junction of implementation 2, wherein the second diameter is equal to the outer diameter.

[0150] Implementation 10. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 9, wherein the second passage has a third passage portion that: terminates at the junction portion, and is perpendicular to the first axis.

[0151] Implementation 11. The mixer junction of implementation 10, wherein: the second inlet is on the first end, and the second passage has a fourth passage portion parallel to the first axis.

[0152] Implementation 12. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 11,Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO further comprising: a valve interface; a third inlet at the valve interface, wherein: the third inlet is interposed along the second passage, the second passage includes a fifth passage portion that spans between, and fluidically connects, the first inlet and the third inlet, and the second passage includes a sixth passage portion that spans between, and fluidically connects, the third inlet and the junction portion of the first passage.

[0153] Implementation 13. The mixer junction of implementation 12, wherein the fifth passage portion and the sixth passage portion terminate at each other and form a fluidic connection with each other independent of the third inlet.

[0154] Implementation 14. The mixer of implementation 13, wherein, when a valve is interfaced with the valve interface, fluid is configured to flow along the second passage and between the fifth passage portion and the sixth passage when the valve is in an open position or a closed position.

[0155] Implementation 15. The mixer junction of implementation 12, wherein, when a valve is interfaced with the valve interface: fluid is configured to flow along the second passage and between the fifth passage portion and the sixth passage when the valve is in an open position, and fluid is configured not to flow along the second passage and between the fifth passage portion and the sixth passage when the valve is in a closed position.

[0156] Implementation 16. The mixer junction of implementation 12, wherein the sixth passage portion is perpendicular to the first axis.

[0157] Implementation 17. The mixer junction of implementation 12, wherein: the second inlet is on the first end, and the third inlet is on the first side.

[0158] Implementation 18. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 17, further comprising: a valve interface; a third inlet at the valve interface, andAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO a third passage spanning between, and f luidica lly connecting, the third inlet and the second passage.

[0159] Implementation 19. The mixer junction of implementation 18, wherein the sixth passage portion is perpendicular to the first axis.

[0160] Implementation 20. The mixer junction of implementation 18, wherein: the second inlet is on the first end, and the third inlet is on the first side.

[0161] Implementation 21. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 20, wherein the second inlet is on the first end.

[0162] Implementation 22. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 21, wherein the second inlet is on the first side.

[0163] Implementation 23. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 22, wherein the spiral surface has a cross-sectional profile perpendicular to the first axis having: a first surface facing the first inlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a first corner, the first corner forming a first included angle, a second surface facing the outlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a second corner, the second corner forming a second included angle, and a centermost surface facing the first axis and spanning between the first surface and the second surface.

[0164] Implementation 24. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein: the centermost surface intersects the first surface at a first edge that is rounded, and the centermost surface intersects the second surface at a second edge that is rounded.

[0165] Implementation 25. The mixer junction of implementation 24, wherein: the first surface and the centermost surface form a first reflex angle, and the second surface and the centermost surface form a second reflex angle.

[0166] Implementation 26. The mixer junction of implementation 25, wherein: the first reflex angle ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees, and the second reflex angle ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees.Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO

[0167] Implementation 27. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein the centermost surface is closer to the first axis than the outer bore surface.

[0168] Implementation 28. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein a cross- sectional profile of the centermost surface is linear and parallel to the first axis.

[0169] Implementation 29. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein a cross- sectional profile of the centermost surface is linear and oriented at a nonparallel angle with respect to the first axis.

[0170] Implementation 30. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein opposite portions of the centermost surface in a direction perpendicular to, and intersecting with, the first axis are offset from each other by a nonzero peak-to-peak distance.

[0171] Implementation 31. The mixer junction of implementation 30, wherein the peak-to-peak distance is from about 7 millimeters to about 12 millimeters.

[0172] Implementation 32. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein: the centermost surface has an inner diameter that ranges from about 4 mm to about 12 mm, and the outer bore surface has an outer diameter that ranges from about 7 mm to about 17 mm.

[0173] Implementation 33. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein the first corner and the second corner are rounded.

[0174] Implementation 34. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein: the first included angle is obtuse, and the second included angle is obtuse.

[0175] Implementation 35. The mixer junction of implementation 34, wherein: the first included angle ranges from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees, and the second included angle ranges from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees.

[0176] Implementation 36. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein: the first included angle is perpendicular, and the second included angle is obtuse.

[0177] Implementation 37. The mixer junction of implementation 23, wherein: the first included angle is obtuse, andAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO the second included angle is acute.

[0178] Implementation 38. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 27, wherein the spiral surface has no more than two rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction portion.

[0179] Implementation 39. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 38, wherein the spiral surface has three rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction portion.

[0180] Implementation 40. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 39, wherein the spiral surface has no more than three rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction portion.

[0181] Implementation41. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 40, wherein the first passage is without any structures radially inwards of the spiral surface towards the first axis.

[0182] Implementation 42. The mixer junction of any of implementations 1 to 41, wherein the spiral surface follows a helical pathway around the first axis.

[0183] Implementation 43: A mixer junction for semiconductor processing, the mixer junction comprising: a body having a top end and a bottom end; a first inlet at the top end; an outlet at the bottom end; a first bore extending through the body from the first inlet to the outlet along a center axis, f luidica lly connecting the first inlet to the outlet, having an outer bore surface parallel to the center axis, and having a spiral surface with a plurality of rotations around the center axis for a length of the first bore; a second inlet at a side of the body; and a second bore extending from the second inlet to the first bore, terminating at the first bore at a junction point, and fluidically connecting the second inlet to the first bore, wherein the spiral surface: is radially inwards of the outer bore surface with respect to the center axis,Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO the rotations of the spiral surface are offset from each other by a pitch parallel to the center axis, and has at least two rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction point.

[0184] Implementation 44: The mixer junction of implementation 43, wherein the spiral surface has a cross-sectional profile perpendicular to the center axis having: a first surface facing the first inlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a first corner, the first corner forming a first included angle, a second surface facing the outlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a second corner, the second corner forming a second included angle, and a centermost surface facing the center axis and spanning between the first surface and the second surface.

[0185] Implementation 45: The mixer junction of implementation 44, wherein: the centermost surface intersects the first surface at a first edge that is rounded, and the centermost surface intersects the second surface at a second edge that is rounded.

[0186] Implementation 46: The mixer junction of implementation 45, wherein: the first surface and the centermost surface form a first reflex angle, and the second surface and the centermost surface form a second reflex angle.

[0187] Implementation 47: The mixer junction of implementation 46, wherein: the first reflex angle ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees, and the second reflex angle ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees.

[0188] Implementation 48: The mixer junction of implementation 44, wherein the centermost surface is closer to the center axis than the outer bore surface.

[0189] Implementation 49: The mixer junction of implementation 44, wherein a cross-sectional profile of the centermost surface is linear and parallel to the center axis.

[0190] Implementation 50: The mixer junction of implementation 44, wherein a cross-sectional profile of the centermost surface is linear and oriented at a nonparallel angle with respect to the center axis.

[0191] Implementation 51: The mixer junction of implementation 44, whereinAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO opposite portions of the centermost surface in a direction perpendicular to, and intersecting with, the center axis are offset from each other by a nonzero peak-to-peak distance.

[0192] Implementation 52: The mixer junction of implementation 51, wherein the peak-to-peak distance is from about 7 millimeters to about 12 millimeters.

[0193] Implementation 53: The mixer junction of implementation 44, wherein the first corner and the second corner are rounded.

[0194] Implementation 54: The mixer junction of implementation 44, wherein: the first included angle is obtuse, and the second included angle is obtuse.

[0195] Implementation 55: The mixer junction of implementation 54, wherein: the first included angle ranges from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees, and the second included angle ranges from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees.

[0196] Implementation 56: The mixer junction of implementation 44, wherein: the first included angle is perpendicular, and the second included angle is obtuse.

[0197] Implementation 57: The mixer junction of implementation 44, wherein: the first included angle is obtuse, and the second included angle is acute.

[0198] Implementation 58: The mixer junction of any of implementations 43 to 57, wherein the spiral surface has three rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction point.

[0199] Implementation 59: The mixer junction of any of implementations 43 to 58, wherein the spiral surface has no more than three rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction point.

[0200] Implementation 60: The mixer junction of any of implementations 43 to 59, wherein the second bore is perpendicular to the first bore.

[0201] Implementation 61: The mixer junction of any of implementations 43 to 60, wherein the second bore extends through the first bore in-between at least two rotations of the spiral surface.

[0202] Implementation 62: The mixer junction of any of implementations 43 to 61,Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO wherein the first bore is without any structures radially inwards of the spiral surface towards the center axis.

[0203] Implementation 63: The mixer junction of any of implementations 43 to 62, wherein the spiral surface follows a helical pathway around the center axis.

[0204] Implementation 64: The mixer junction of any of implementations 43 to 63, wherein: the outer bore surface has an outer diameter, and the outlet has an outlet bore that is: coaxial to the center axis, extends into the body in a direction parallel to the center axis, terminates at the first bore, and has an outlet bore surface with an outlet bore diameter greater than the outer diameter of the outer bore surface.

[0205] Implementation 65: The mixer junction of any of implementations 43 to 64, wherein the pitch is from about 7 millimeters to about 12 millimeters.

[0206] Implementation 66: A showerhead for semiconductor processing, the showerhead comprising: a showerhead body having at least one internal plenum and a plurality of through-holes, and configured to receive process gases and flow the received process gases onto a wafer in a semiconductor processing chamber; and a stem connected to and extending away from the showerhead body, and having a stem body with: an outlet adjacent to the showerhead body, an inlet upstream of the outlet, and a central bore extending through the stem body from the inlet to the outlet along a center axis, f luidica lly connecting the inlet to the outlet, having an outer bore surface parallel to the center axis, and having a spiral surface with a plurality of rotations around the center axis for a first length less than or equal to a length of the stem body, wherein the spiral surface: is radially inwards of the outer bore surface with respect to the center axis, andAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO the rotations of the spiral surface are offset from each other by a pitch parallel to the center axis.

[0207] Implementation 67: The showerhead of implementation 66, wherein the spiral surface has a cross-sectional profile perpendicular to the center axis having: a first surface facing the inlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a first corner, the first corner forming a first included angle, a second surface facing the outlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a second corner, the second corner forming a second included angle, and a centermost surface facing the center axis and spanning between the first surface and the second surface.

[0208] Implementation 68: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein: the centermost surface intersects the first surface at a first edge that is rounded, and the centermost surface intersects the second surface at a second edge that is rounded.

[0209] Implementation 69: The showerhead of implementation 68, wherein: the first surface and the centermost surface form a first reflex angle, and the second surface and the centermost surface form a second reflex angle.

[0210] Implementation 70: The showerhead of implementation 69, wherein: the first reflex angle ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees, and the second reflex angle ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees.

[0211] Implementation 71: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein the centermost surface is closer to the center axis than the outer bore surface.

[0212] Implementation 72: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein a cross- sectional profile of the centermost surface is linear and parallel to the center axis.

[0213] Implementation 73: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein a cross- sectional profile of the centermost surface is linear and oriented at a nonparallel angle with respect to the center axis.

[0214] Implementation 74: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein opposite portions of the centermost surface in a direction perpendicular to, and intersecting with, the center axis are offset from each other by a nonzero peak-to-peak distance.Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO

[0215] Implementation 75: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein the first corner and the second corner are rounded.

[0216] Implementation 76: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein: the first included angle is obtuse, and the second included angle is obtuse.

[0217] Implementation 77: The showerhead of implementation 76, wherein: the first included angle ranges from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees, and the second included angle ranges from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees.

[0218] Implementation 78: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein: the first included angle is perpendicular, and the second included angle is obtuse.

[0219] Implementation 79: The showerhead of implementation 67, wherein: the first included angle is obtuse, and the second included angle is acute.

[0220] Implementation 80: The showerhead of any of implementations 66 to 79, wherein the pitch is from about 7 millimeters to about 12 millimeters.

[0221] Implementation 81: The showerhead of any of implementations 66 to 80, wherein the central bore is without any structures radially inwards of the spiral surface towards the center axis.

[0222] Implementation 82: The showerhead of any of implementations 66 to 81, wherein the spiral surface follows a helical pathway around the center axis.

Claims

1. Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WOCLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A mixer junction for semiconductor processing, the mixer junction comprising: a body having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a first side; a first inlet at the first end; a second inlet at the first end or the first side; an outlet at the second end; a first passage extending through the body from the first inlet to the outlet along a first axis parallel to a center axis of the body, fluidically connecting the first inlet to the outlet, having a junction portion, a first passage portion extending from the first inlet to the junction portion, a spiral portion, and a second passage portion interposed between the spiral portion and the outlet; and a second passage extending from the second inlet to the junction portion of the first bore, terminating at the junction portion, and fluidically connecting the second inlet to the first bore, wherein: the spiral portion has an outer bore surface parallel to the first axis and a spiral surface with a plurality of rotations around the first axis for a first length of the first passage, the spiral surface is radially inwards of the outer bore surface with respect to the first axis, the rotations of the spiral surface are offset from each other by a pitch parallel to the first axis, and the spiral surface has at least two rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction portion.

2. The mixer junction of claim 1, wherein: the first passage portion has a first inner diameter, the junction portion comprises a junction cylindrical surface that has a second inner diameter, the outer bore surface has an outer diameter, and the second passage portion has a third inner diameter.Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO3. The mixer junction of claim 2, wherein the first inner diameter is less than the second inner diameter.

4. The mixer junction of claim 3, wherein the junction portion further comprises a frustoconical surface spanning between the first passage portion and the junction cylindrical surface.

5. The mixer junction of claim 2, wherein the second inner diameter is equal to the outer diameter.

6. The mixer junction of claim 5, wherein the outer diameter is equal to the third inner diameter.

7. The mixer junction of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second passage has a third passage portion that: terminates at the junction portion, and is perpendicular to the first axis.

8. The mixer junction of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a valve interface; a third inlet at the valve interface, wherein: the third inlet is interposed along the second passage, the second passage includes a fifth passage portion that spans between, and fluidically connects, the first inlet and the third inlet, and the second passage includes a sixth passage portion that spans between, and fluidically connects, the third inlet and the junction portion of the first passage.

9. The mixer junction of claim 8, wherein the fifth passage portion and the sixth passage portion terminate at each other and form a fluidic connection with each other independent of the third inlet.

10. The mixer of claim 9, wherein, when a valve is interfaced with the valve interface, fluid is configured to flow along the second passage and between the fifth passage portion and the sixth passage when the valve is in an open position or a closed position.

11. The mixer junction of claim 8, wherein the sixth passage portion is perpendicular to the first axis.Attorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO12. The mixer junction of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the second inlet is on the first end.

13. The mixer junction of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the spiral surface has a cross-sectional profile perpendicular to the first axis having: a first surface facing the first inlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a first corner, the first corner forming a first included angle, a second surface facing the outlet and intersecting the outer bore surface at a second corner, the second corner forming a second included angle, and a centermost surface facing the first axis and spanning between the first surface and the second surface.

14. The mixer junction of claim 13, wherein: the centermost surface intersects the first surface at a first edge that is rounded, and the centermost surface intersects the second surface at a second edge that is rounded.

15. The mixer junction of claim 14, wherein: the first surface and the centermost surface form a first reflex angle that ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees, and the second surface and the centermost surface form a second reflex angle that ranges from about 195 degrees to about 265 degrees.

16. The mixer junction of claim 13, wherein a cross-sectional profile of the centermost surface is linear and oriented at a nonparallel angle with respect to the first axis.

17. The mixer junction of claim 13, wherein opposite portions of the centermost surface in a direction perpendicular to, and intersecting with, the first axis are offset from each other by a nonzero peak-to-peak distance.

18. The mixer junction of claim 13, wherein the first corner and the second corner are rounded.

19. The mixer junction of claim 13, wherein: the first included angle is obtuse and ranges from about 95 degrees to about160 degrees, andAttorney Docket No.: LAM1P086AWO / 11906-2WO the second included angle is obtuse and ranges from about 95 degrees to about 160 degrees.

20. The mixer junction of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the spiral surface has no more than two rotations interposed between the outlet and the junction portion.

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