Patent ID: 9090972
Filing Date: 2015-07-28
Classification: C23C,G05D,H01J,H01L,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A gas supply subsystem for providing a set of process gases to a substrate processing chamber, said set of process gases being a subset of a plurality of process gases available to said substrate processing chamber, comprising: a plurality of process gas conduits providing a plurality of process gases; a plurality of mass flow controllers each having their inputs in gaseous communication with selective ones of said plurality of process gas conduits, said plurality of mass flow controllers having fewer mass flow controllers than a total number of process gases in said plurality of process gases, wherein at least a first process gas of said plurality of process gases is under selective gas flow control by at least two mass flow controllers of said plurality of mass flow controllers and wherein at least a first mass flow controller of said at least two mass flow controllers also provides selective gas flow control to a second process gas of said plurality of process gases; and a first upstream valve coupled to an inlet of said first mass flow controller, wherein said first upstream valve selectively couples said inlet to a vacuum and a conduit that provides at least one of said first process gas and said second process gas to said inlet.