Patent ID: 8029621

Claim:
A raw material feeding device for feeding a gaseous raw material formed by sublimating a solid raw material to a film formation system, comprising: a raw material container for holding the solid raw material therein; a first heating unit placed at a first side of the container; a second heating unit placed at a second side thereof; and a control device programmed with instructions to perform the following steps: a first temperature control step for conducting a first process of controlling the first and the second heating unit to make the temperature of the first side higher than that of the second side to thereby sublimate the solid raw material disposed at the first side; a second temperature control step for conducting a second process of controlling the first and the second heating unit to make the temperature of the second side higher than that of the first side to thereby sublimate the solid raw material disposed at the second side; and a gaseous raw material feeding step for feeding the gaseous raw material formed by the sublimation of the solid raw material to the film formation system after performing the first temperature control step and the second temperature control step.