Patent ID: 9340878
Filing Date: 2016-05-17
CPC Classification: C23C,G01N

Claim Text:
1. An apparatus for monitoring and control of a vapor deposition installation wherein a gas mixture containing gas species can cause gas phase nucleation and/or chemical attack under process conditions supportive of such behavior, the monitoring and control apparatus comprising: a radiation source arranged to transmit source radiation through a sample of said gas mixture; a detector arranged to receive output radiation resulting from interaction of the source radiation with the gas mixture sample, and to responsively generate a detector output; and a processor and control assembly, comprising an algorithmic program for determining incipient occurrence of gas phase nucleation and/or chemical attack, the processor being configured to receive the detector output, algorithmically process same according to the algorithmic program to determine incipient occurrence of said gas phase nucleation and/or chemical attack in the vapor deposition installation, and responsively generate an output to control the vapor deposition installation so as to avoid gas phase nucleation and/or chemical attack therein, and maintain the vapor deposition installation in non-gas phase nucleation and/or non-chemical attack operation throughout vapor deposition in the vapor deposition installation.