Patent ID: 7699932
Filing Date: 2010-04-20
Classification: C23C

Abstract:
1. A reactor for depositing thin films on microfeature workpieces, comprising: a reaction vessel having a chamber; a gas distributor attached to the reaction vessel, the gas distributor having an inner compartment including a plurality of primary outlets open to the chamber; a workpiece holder in the chamber, the workpiece holder having a process site aligned with the primary outlets along a lift path, and the process site having an outer boundary; and a side unit in the reaction vessel at a location relative to the gas distributor and/or the workpiece holder, the side unit surrounding at least a portion of the inner compartment, and the side unit having a bottom surface below the primary outlets and a downwardly facing secondary outlet at the bottom surface configured to direct a downwardly flowing gas curtain through a region outside of the outer boundary of the process site, wherein (a) the secondary outlet operates independently of the primary outlets and (b) the inner compartment, the side unit and/or the workpiece holder are moveable along the lift path between a first position and a second position; wherein an inner portion of the bottom surface of the side unit is superimposed over an outer portion of the workpiece holder such that the inner portion of the bottom surface contacts the outer portion of the workpiece holder in the first position.