Patent ID: 8518181

Claim:
A thin film formation apparatus that introduces, in a first operational phase thereof, a source gas into a processing vessel capable of being evacuated and accommodating therein a substrate to be processed, and forms a thin film on said substrate by causing a reaction in said introduced source gas, comprising: a source gas producing part producing said source gas by vaporizing a source material of solid or liquid; a carrier gas supply part supplying a carrier gas to said source gas producing part; a source gas supplying line extending directly from an outlet of said source gas producing part to said processing vessel, said source gas supplying line causing said source gas produced in said source gas producing part to flow to said processing vessel; a first open/close valve provided on said source gas supplying line, said first open/close valve taking an opened state in said first operational phase; and a plurality of reserve tanks connected to said source gas supplying line via a line branched out and separate from said source gas supplying line, said reserve tanks configured to suck said source gas in an interval in which said first open/close valve is in a closed state and discharge said source gas when said first open/close valve has become said open state, wherein said thin film formation apparatus is configured to adjust a volume of said source gas filled in said source gas supplying line at a part upstream side to said first open/close valve, by selectively switching said plurality of reserve tanks, wherein said thin film formation apparatus carrying out an atomic layer deposition process, by carrying out said first operational phase, a first purging process for purging said processing vessel after said first operational phase, a second operational phase of supplying a reducing gas to said processing vessel after said first purging process, and a second purging process for purging said processing vessel after said second operational phase, and wherein the source gas supplying line extending directly from the outlet of the source gas producing part to said processing vessel does not pass through any of the plurality of reserve tanks.