Vessel and method for delivery of precursor materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10443128-B2
Application number	US-201615094551-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 8, 2016
Priority date	Apr 18, 2015
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

A vessel for conveying a precursor-containing fluid stream from a precursor material contained within the vessel using a carrier gas. The vessel defines an interior volume segmented into an upper volume and a lower volume, the upper volume being in fluid communication with the lower volume, the lower volume containing substantially all of the precursor material and being separated from the upper volume by a separator. The vessel includes a diffuser tube that extends from an inlet port, through the separator and has a distal end having a plurality of openings formed therein and extends along the bottom interior wall of the vessel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vessel for conveying a precursor-containing fluid stream from a precursor material contained within the vessel using a carrier gas, the vessel consisting essentially of:
an interior volume segmented into an upper volume and a lower volume, the lower volume containing all of the precursor material;
a lid that defines at least a portion of the upper volume;
a sidewall having an upper end comprising an upper lip and an upper opening, wherein at least a portion of the upper end contacts the lid;
a base that defines a portion of the lower volume, the base including an interior bottom surface that defines a lower end of the lower volume, the interior bottom surface having an interior bottom surface shape;
a separator located at the upper end of the sidewall, interposed between the lid and the sidewall, and spanning the upper opening, the separator being formed of a porous material and having a first aperture formed therein;
an inlet that passes through the lid and is in fluid communication with the interior volume, the inlet having a body that extends from the lid to the separator: the body, the separator and the lid defining an outlet chamber that is external to the body, within the lid and above the separator;
a diffuser tube having a proximal end that is in fluid communication with the inlet and a distal end that is located with the lower volume, the distal end comprising a nozzle portion having a plurality of openings formed therein and a nozzle portion shape;
an outlet that passes through the lid and is in fluid communication with the interior volume, the outlet having at least one opening, each of the at least one opening being located within the outlet chamber;
a fill port that passes through the lid and terminates at a chute located along the sidewall within the lower volume, the fill port being in fluid communication with the interior volume and bypassing the separator; and
the inlet further comprises a coupler located below the separator, the diffuser tube attached to and detachable from the coupler;
wherein
the interior bottom surface contains at least part of bottom surface of the vessel; and
the separator and inlet are operationally configured to prevent flow communication from the lower volume into the outlet chamber except through the separator.

2. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein the porous material of the separator has a filtration efficiency of at least 90% for particles having a particle size of at least 0.7 μm.

3. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein the lower volume has a lower radius that is larger than an upper radius of the upper lip of the sidewall, thereby defining a shoulder portion of the sidewall.

4. The vessel of claim 3 , wherein the lower radius is at least 20% larger than the upper radius.

5. The vessel of claim 3 , wherein the chute is located in the shoulder portion.

6. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle portion shape is substantially the same as the interior bottom surface shape.

7. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle portion shape and the interior bottom surface shape are both concave.

8. The vessel of claim 1 , wherein the body further comprises a flange.

9. A method comprising:
(a) providing the vessel of claim 1 ;
(b) at least partially filling the lower volume with the precursor material collectively from the interior bottom surface up and covering at least part of the nozzle portion of the diffuser tube with the precursor material;
(c) supplying the carrier gas through the nozzle and diffusing the carrier gas up through the precursor material directly; and
(d) removing a precursor-containing fluid stream from the outlet.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
(e) assembling the lid, sidewall and base before performing any of steps (b) through (d);
wherein step (b) further comprises at least partially filling the lower volume with the precursor material using the fill port and without removing the lid from the sidewall.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
(f) after performing steps (b) through (e), cleaning the lower volume without removing the lid from the sidewall.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein step (b) further comprises:
(b) at least partially filling the lower volume with the precursor material, the precursor material selected from the group of: hafnium chloride (HfCl4), zirconium chloride (ZrCl4), tantalum chloride (TaCl5), MoCl5, WCl6, WCl5, WOCl4, NbCl5, indium trichloride, aluminum trichloride, gallium trichloride, titanium iodide, tungsten hexacarbonyl, molybdenum hexacarbonyl, decaborane, precursors incorporating alkyl-amidinate ligands, precursors such as zirconium tertiary butoxide (Zr(t-0Bu)4), tetrakis(diethylamino)zirconium (Zr(Net2)4), tetrakis(diethylamino)hafnium (Hf(Net2)4), tetrakis(dimethylamino)titanium (TDMAT), tertbutyliminotris(diethylamino)tantalum (TBTDET), pentakis(dimethylamino)tantalum (PDMAT), pentakis (ethylmethylamino)tantalum (PEMAT), tetrakis(dimethylamino)zirconium (Zr(NMe2)4), hafniumtertiarybutoxide (Hf(t-OBu)4), and mixtures thereof.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein step (b) further comprises:
(b) at least partially filling the lower volume with the precursor material, the precursor material selected from the group of: tantalum chloride and a mixture of tungsten hexachloride and tungsten pentachloride.

Assignees

• Air Prod & Chem
• Versum Mat Us Llc

Inventors

• Birtcher Charles Michael
• Steidl Thomas Andrew
• Ivanov Sergei Vladimirovich

Classifications

• C23C16/4482

  by bubbling of carrier gas through liquid source material · CPC title

• C23C16/45561

  Gas plumbing upstream of the reaction chamber · CPC title

• C23C16/4481 Primary

  by evaporation using carrier gas in contact with the source material (C23C16/4486 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C23C16/4483

  using a porous body · CPC title

• C23C16/45563

  Gas nozzles · CPC title