Patent ID: 8039051

Claim:
A method for hydrogenation over a large planar area target using a hydrogen source comprising at least one discrete localised intense atomic hydrogen source, the method comprising: a) raising the temperature of a target to a temperature within a predetermined processing temperature range; b) moving the target through one or more fields of atomic hydrogen whereby only a portion of the area of the target is in any one atomic hydrogen field at any time and continuing the movement of the target until at least one area of the target has been subjected to an atomic hydrogen field for a predetermined minimum period of time; c) cooling the target after the at least one area of the target has been subjected to an atomic hydrogen field for a predetermined minimum period of time at temperatures within the predetermined processing temperature range; and d) intermittently exposing the target to an atomic hydrogen field during cooling of the target; and e) terminating exposure of the target to the atomic hydrogen field when the target reaches a predetermined lower temperature limit.