Patent ID: 7455720

Claim:
A method of protecting a vacuum pump connected by a foreline to a process chamber in a TiN deposition system from wear caused by solid products of reactions of TiCl 4 and NH 3 feed gases, comprising: condensing and trapping condensable TiCl 4 .nNH 3 (n=2, 4, and/or 8) and NH 4 Cl byproducts of reactions of the TiCl 4 and NH 3 that flow out of the process chamber and into the foreline before those byproducts of the reactions in the process chamber reach the vacuum pump; and providing a second reactor in the foreline between the process chamber and the vacuum pump with adsorption surfaces to sorb and react enough of theretofore unreacted TiCl 4 and NH 3 feed gases that flow through the process chamber and foreline to consume substantially all of at least one of the theretofore unreacted TiCl 4 and NH 3 feed gases and to retain solid products of such reactions in the second reactor so that at least one of TiCl 4 and NH 3 feed gases does not reach the vacuum pump.