A vapor deposition apparatus includes an exhaust regulator provided in an exhaust pipe to regulate exhaust of the reaction chamber and including: a hollow frustum upstream baffle having a larger first opening near a reaction chamber than a second opening near an exhaust device; and a hollow frustum downstream baffle provided near the exhaust device with respect to the upstream baffle and having a larger third opening near the reaction chamber than a fourth opening near the exhaust device. The upstream baffle and downstream baffle are designed so that B/A and C/A are 0.33 or less, at least one of B/A and C/A is 0.26 or less, and (B+C)/A is 0.59 or less, where an inner diameter of the exhaust pipe and diameters of the first and third openings are A, a diameter of the second opening is B and a diameter of the fourth opening is C.

An improved thermocouple of the type contained in a sleeve having a closed distal end and an open proximal end through which the thermocouple leads pass, the improvement comprising a closed, vented cap for substantially closing the open end of the sleeve, the cap having a vent for accommodating a sampling tube for taking samples of gas at the open proximal end of the sleeve, and preferably allowing atmospheric air to replace the gas removed from the interior of the cap through the sampling tube.

The disclosed methods and apparatus improve the fabrication of solid fibers and microstructures. In many embodiments, the fabrication is from gaseous, solid, semi-solid, liquid, critical, and supercritical mixtures using one or more low molar mass precursor(s), in combination with one or more high molar mass precursor(s). The methods and systems generally employ the thermal diffusion/Soret effect to concentrate the low molar mass precursor at a reaction zone, where the presence of the high molar mass precursor contributes to this concentration, and may also contribute to the reaction and insulate the reaction zone, thereby achieving higher fiber growth rates and/or reduced energy/heat expenditures together with reduced homogeneous nucleation. In some embodiments, the invention also relates to the permanent or semi-permanent recording and/or reading of information on or within fabricated fibers and microstructures. In some embodiments, the invention also relates to the fabrication of certain functionally-shaped fibers and microstructures. In some embodiments, the invention may also utilize laser beam profiling to enhance fiber and microstructure fabrication.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate to chamber liners, processing chambers that include chamber liners, and methods of using the same. In one embodiment, a processing chamber comprises a chamber body defining an interior volume and comprising an access port for inserting a substrate into the interior volume; a cathode assembly configured to generate a plasma within the interior volume; and a chamber liner comprising a smooth interior surface that is radially symmetric about a vertical axis of the chamber body. The chamber liner is configured to move between a loading position and an operation position.

There is provided a cleaning method of a substrate processing apparatus comprising cleaning an inside of an exhaust pipe through which a gas of an inside of a processing container is exhausted. The cleaning the inside of the exhaust pipe includes: removing a deposit on a downstream side of an opening/closing valve in the exhaust pipe by supplying a first exhaust pipe cleaning gas containing fluorine to the downstream side of the opening/closing valve in the exhaust pipe in a state in which the opening/closing valve provided in a middle of the exhaust pipe is closed; and removing a deposit on an upstream side of the opening/closing valve in the exhaust pipe by supplying a second exhaust pipe cleaning gas not containing fluorine as a gas constituent element to the inside of the processing container in a state in which the opening/closing valve is opened.

Methods and apparatus for controlling a flow of process material to a deposition chamber. In embodiments, the apparatus includes a deposition chamber in fluid communication with one or more sublimators through one or more delivery lines, wherein the one or more sublimators each include an ampoule in fluid communication with the one or more delivery lines through an opening, and at least a first heat source and a second heat source, wherein the first heat source is a radiant heat source adjacent the ampoule and the second heat source is adjacent the opening, wherein the one or more delivery lines include one or more conduits between the deposition chamber and the one or more sublimators, and wherein the one or more conduits include one or more valves to open or close the one or more conduits, wherein the one or more valves in an open position prevents the flow of process material into the deposition chamber, and wherein the one or more valves in a closed position directs the flow of process material into the deposition chamber.

In various embodiments, a transporting device for transporting a substrate in a process chamber is provided. The transporting device includes a guiding rail arrangement having two guiding rails for mounting a multiplicity of bars between the two guiding rails. The two guiding rails form a closed path of movement along which the multiplicity of bars are guided. The transporting device further includes the multiplicity of bars that are mounted in the guiding rail arrangement, and a drive device for pushing at least one bar of the multiplicity of bars in such a way that, in a transporting region of the guiding rail arrangement, in each case multiple bars of the multiplicity of bars are pushed against one another and the bars that have been pushed against one another move along the path of movement in the transporting region.

A vapor deposition device is provided that can ameliorate or improve the LPD quality. A vapor deposition device includes a first holder that supports a carrier at a topmost-level and a second holder that supports the carrier under the first holder in a load-lock chamber, and a second robot mounts a before-treatment wafer extracted from a wafer storage container on the carrier standing by at the first holder in the load-lock chamber.

A plasma apparatus configured to form a film on or etch a work piece includes: a vacuum chamber including a first casing that has a first recess and a first flat part disposed around the first recess, and a second casing disposed opposite to the first casing; an insulating member that is disposed between the first flat part of the first casing and the second casing, and is configured to contact with the work piece in a state where the work piece faces a space inside the first recess and is separated from the first flat part; and an electricity application unit that is configured to apply electricity to the work piece, wherein a distance between the first flat part and a contact point between the work piece and the insulating member is shorter than a distance between the work piece and a bottom part of the first recess.

A method and apparatus for a deposition chamber is provided and includes a twin chamber that includes a first remote plasma system coupled and dedicated to a first processing region, a second remote plasma system coupled and dedicated to a second processing region, and a third remote plasma system shared by the first processing region and the second processing region.