Patent ID: 8808453

Claim:
A system for processing a semiconductor wafer with a gas having a first chemical component and a second chemical component different from the first chemical component, the gas being a precursor for growing a layer of semiconductor material, the system comprising: a wafer processing chamber for receiving the semiconductor wafer and the gas and exhausting at least a portion of the first chemical component and at least a portion of the second chemical component; a first abatement apparatus located downstream from the wafer processing chamber, the first abatement apparatus selected to remove substantially all of the portion of the first chemical component exhausted by said wafer processing chamber; and a second abatement apparatus located between said wafer processing chamber and said first abatement apparatus, said second abatement apparatus including a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber comprising an enclosure containing at least one substrate fixed within said CVD chamber, said second abatement apparatus selected and configured to abate, by CVD upon said at least one substrate, the portion of the second chemical component exhausted by said wafer processing chamber so as to inhibit the portion of the second chemical component exhausted by said wafer processing chamber from reaching said first abatement apparatus, wherein said at least one substrate consists essentially of a material selected to promote thermal CVD of the second portion of the second chemical component and said enclosure also consists essentially of said material; wherein: the first chemical component is arsine, said first abatement apparatus selected to remove substantially all of the portion of the arsine exhausted by said wafer-processing chamber; and said first abatement apparatus is a resin-based arsine adsorber.