Apparatus for providing uniform gas delivery to a reactor

Abstract

A gas distribution system for a reactor having at least two distinct gas source orifice arrays displaced from one another along an axis defined by a gas flow direction from the gas source orifice arrays towards a work-piece deposition surface such that at least a lower one of the gas source orifice arrays is located between a higher one of the gas source orifice arrays and the work-piece deposition surface. Orifices in the higher one of the gas source orifice arrays may spaced an average of 0.2-0.8 times a distance between the higher one of the gas source orifice arrays and the work-piece deposition surface, while orifices in the lower one of the gas source orifice arrays may be spaced an average of 0.1-0.4 times a distance between the higher one of the gas source orifice array and the work-piece deposition surface.

1 . An apparatus, comprising
 a reactor chamber;   gas source arrays disposed within the reactor chamber, the gas source arrays having:
 (i) a first gas source orifice array disposed a first distance from a surface of a work-piece within the reactor chamber along an axis defined by gas flow towards the surface of the work-piece, and 
 (ii) a second gas source orifice array separate from and not fluidly coupled to the first gas source orifice array, the second gas source orifice array disposed at a second distance from the surface of a work-piece along the axis defined by gas flow towards the surface of the work-piece, said second distance being less than said first distance; and 
   vacuum means coupled to evacuate gasses from the reactor chamber,   wherein, the first and second gas source orifice arrays are fluidly coupled to:
 (i) flow, during a first time interval, a purge gas into the reactor chamber from the first gas source orifice array while flowing a first reactive precursor into the reactor chamber from the second gas source orifice array; 
 (ii) flow, during a second time interval, the purge gas into the reactor chamber from both the first and second gas source orifice arrays while evacuating the reactor chamber; 
 (iii) flow, during a third time interval, a second reactive precursor into the reactor chamber from the first gas source orifice array while flowing the purge gas into the reactor chamber from the second gas source orifice array; and 
 (iv) flow, during a fourth time interval, the purge gas into the reactor chamber from both the first and second gas source orifice array While evacuating the reactor.