Patent ID: 6450116
Filing Date: 2002-09-17
Classification: C23C,H01J

Abstract:
An apparatus comprising:a first reaction chamber having an outlet; a gas source coupled to the first reaction chamber to supply a gas to the first reaction chamber comprising constituents adapted to react with a substrate in a process step; an excitation energy source coupled to the first reaction chamber to generate a plasma comprising ions and radicals from the gas; and a second reaction chamber adapted to house a substrate at a site in the second reaction chamber wherein the first reaction chamber is coupled to the second reaction chamber by an inlet member and radicals of the plasma flow from the outlet of the first reaction chamber through a passageway of the inlet member into the second reaction chamber, an outlet of the passageway having a cross-sectional dimension that is less than a cross-sectional dimension of the outlet of the first reaction chamber such that, during processing, the pressure in the second reaction chamber is less than the pressure in the first reaction chamber.