Material Delivery System and Method

Abstract

A system and method for controlling saturated vapor pressure of a precursor material is provided. An embodiment comprises generating a calibration curve and utilizing the calibration curve to control a temperature of the precursor material in order to control its saturated vapor pressure. Alternatively, the calibration curve may be substituted for a real time sensor which can take readings in real time and adjust the temperature and saturated vapor pressure based upon the real time readings.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A semiconductor manufacturing system comprising:
 a precursor canister with a heater; and   a controller configured to automatically adjust the heater based at least in part upon an indication of a vapor pressure.   
     
     
         2 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of the vapor pressure is part of a calibration curve. 
     
     
         3 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 2 , wherein the calibration curve is based upon a series of vapor pressure measurements. 
     
     
         4 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  2 , wherein the calibration curve is based upon a series of thickness variation measurements. 
     
     
         5 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 1 , further comprising a concentration sensor extending into the precursor canister and communicably coupled to the controller. 
     
     
         6 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 5 , wherein the indication of the vapor pressure is a concentration measurement from the concentration sensor. 
     
     
         7 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 1 , further including a precursor material within the precursor canister, the precursor material being at least partially in a solid phase. 
     
     
         8 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 7 , further including a precursor material within the precursor canister, the precursor material being at least partially in a liquid phase. 
     
     
         9 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 1 , wherein the heater has a first region and a second region, the first region having a higher resistance than the second region. 
     
     
         10 . A semiconductor manufacturing system comprising:
 a precursor canister with a vapor region and a raw material region;   a heating jacket around the precursor canister; and   a controller coupled to the heating jacket, the controller configured to receive a measured indication of a saturated vapor pressure and automatically adjust the heating jacket based upon the indication of the saturated vapor pressure.   
     
     
         11 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 10 , wherein the indication of the saturated vapor pressure is a measurement of the vapor pressure of the raw material within the raw material region. 
     
     
         12 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 10 , wherein the indication of the saturated vapor pressure is part of a calibration curve. 
     
     
         13 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 12 , wherein the calibration curve is based upon sampled vapor pressures. 
     
     
         14 . The semiconductor manufacturing system of  claim 12 , wherein the calibration curve is based upon a thickness variation of layers. 
     
     
         15 . A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
 applying a first amount of heat to a vapor region of a precursor canister;   measuring an indication of saturated vapor pressure within the vapor region during the applying the first amount of heat; and   applying a second amount of heat to the vapor region of the precursor canister, the second amount of heat being adjusted from the first amount of heat based on the indication of saturated vapor pressure.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising generating a calibration curve from the indication of saturated vapor pressure. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the indication of saturated vapor pressure is a thickness variation of a layer on a semiconductor wafer. 
     
     
         18 . The method of clam  15 , wherein the indication of saturated vapor pressure is a measurement of vapor pressure within the vapor region of the precursor canister. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the indication of saturated vapor pressure is a real-time measurement of vapor pressure within the precursor canister. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the applying a first amount of heat further comprises applying a first voltage to a resistive heater.