Patent ID: 8444766
Filing Date: 2013-05-21
Classification: C23C,H01L

Abstract:
1. A system for recycling, the system comprising: a processing chamber receiving at least a portion of a deposition gas used to deposit a first semiconductor layer, the processing chamber having an exhaust that discharges an unused portion of the deposition gas from the processing chamber and into a first flow path as an effluent gas; a plurality of reclamation reservoirs in fluid communication with the processing chamber by the first flow path, the reclamation reservoirs fluidly coupled with each other in a series by the first flow path, the reclamation reservoirs receiving and storing the effluent gas that is exhausted from the processing chamber; a mixing reservoir in fluid communication with the series of reclamation reservoirs and the processing chamber, the mixing reservoir mixing the effluent gas that is received from the series of reclamation reservoirs with a virgin gas to form a recycled deposition gas, the mixing reservoir also supplying the recycled deposition gas to the processing chamber to deposit at least one of an additional portion of the first semiconductor layer or a second semiconductor layer in the processing chamber; first valves fluidly coupling the reclamation reservoirs with the first flow path, each of the first valves disposed upstream of a respective one of the reclamation reservoirs along the first flow path when the first valves are open, at least one of the first valves is disposed upstream of the series of reclamation reservoirs and remaining ones of the first valves disposed between adjacent pairs of the reclamation reservoirs in the series; and second valves fluidly coupling the reclamation reservoirs with a bypass flow path that is different from the first flow path, each of the second valves disposed between the bypass flow path and a respective one of the reclamation reservoirs, the second valves being disposed upstream of the respective ones of the reclamation reservoirs when the second valves are open, wherein each of the first valves is configured to disconnect the respective reclamation reservoir from the first flow path and each of the second valves is configured to connect the respective reclamation reservoir from the bypass flow path such that the reclamation reservoir that is disconnected from the first and bypass flow paths can be removed while the effluent gas continues to flow into the reclamation reservoirs that remain connected to the first and bypass flow paths via the first and bypass flow paths.