Patent ID: 6887521

Claim:
A method of controlling the delivery of gases in a pulse-type reactor for depositing material onto a micro-device workpiece, comprising: filling a container of the reactor with a desired mass of a precursor gas for a pulse of the precursor gas; actively displacing the precursor gas from the container by driving the precursor gas with a driver separate from the precursor gas; and dispensing the mass of the precursor gas from outlet ports of a gas distributor in the reactor, wherein the container comprises a compartment, a first inlet valve coupled to a first gas supply, a second inlet valve coupled to a second gas supply, and an outlet valve coupled to the outlet ports of the gas distributor; filling the container comprises opening the first inlet valve to flow a first precursor into the compartment until a pressure of the first precursor in the compartment reaches a desired pressure corresponding to the desired mass of single pulse of the first precursor; and actively displacing the precursor gas from the outlet ports comprises closing the first inlet valve, opening the outlet valve, and opening the second inlet valve to flow a purge gas into the compartment that drives the first gas out of the compartment.