According to one embodiment, a processing apparatus includes a chamber, a first gas introduction port that introduces a first gas into the chamber, a first gas discharge port that discharges the first gas from the chamber, and a stage that supports a processing object in the chamber. The processing apparatus has a plasma generating section with an electrode to generate a plasma in the chamber. The processing apparatus includes a shield at a first position that is between the plasma generating section and the stage. The shield is light transmissive, but blocks radicals and ions generated with plasma. In some examples, the shield may be moveable from the first position to another position that is not between the plasma generating section and the stage.

Described herein is a technique capable of suppressing an undesired gas and a foreign substance from entering a supply buffer. According to one aspect thereof, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a process vessel accommodating substrates and vertically arranged along an arrangement direction wherein the substrates are processed in the process vessel; a nozzle provided in the process vessel, provided with first openings arranged along the arrangement direction and configured to distribute and supply a gas to the substrates; and a supply buffer provided in the process vessel, accommodating the nozzle, and provided with second openings arranged along the arrangement direction and open toward a substrate arrangement region in the process vessel where the substrates are arranged, wherein at least one among the first openings is arranged to be prevented from directly facing the second openings.

Disclosed are vapor delivery systems comprise a housing body defining an interior volume therein, a plurality of flow resistors for receiving a carrier gas, to generate gas distribution lines in the interior volume, at least two surfaces having the solid or liquid precursor applied thereto to allow passage of the carrier gas thereover along the gas distribution lines to mix with a solid or liquid precursor vapor, a gas-collecting device downstream of the gas distribution lines to deliver a mixture of the carrier gas and the solid or liquid precursor vapor out of the system, and a flow controller fluidically connected to a carrier gas source to control a feed flow rate of the carrier gas feeding into the interior volume. A gas distribution flow rate along each gas distribution line is controlled by the feed flow rate of the carrier gas feeding into the interior volume.

A preprocessing method comprises a sintering step of heating a solid material container filled with a solid material using a temperature which is lower than either the melting point or sublimation of the solid material, whichever is lower, and crystallizing at least part of the solid material, and an impurity removal step of heating the solid material container filled with the solid material using a temperature which is lower than either the melting point or sublimation of the solid material, whichever is lower, and removing at least part of the impurities included in the solid material.

The present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus and a thin film deposition method in which the resistivity of a thin film is decreased by reducing the content of impurities inside a thin film. The thin film deposition apparatus may include a process chamber configured to perform a deposition process for causing a first metal and a reactant source to react, to form a thin film on a substrate; a source gas nozzle part configured to supply, into the process chamber, a source gas including the first metal and a ligand; a pretreatment gas nozzle part configured to supply, into the process chamber, a pretreatment gas including a second metal reactable with the ligand; and a reaction gas nozzle part configured to supply, into the process chamber, a reaction gas comprising the reactant source.

A method of forming a diamond bulk object includes heating a crystalline material on a support disposed in a volume defined by a chamber, introducing into the volume a reactant gas including a hydrogen-containing component and a carbon-containing component, depositing a plurality of layers of diamond by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to form at least a portion of the diamond bulk object on the support, and forming a predetermined color gradient in the plurality of layers of diamond.

A gas delivery substrate for mounting gas supply components of a gas delivery system for a semiconductor processing apparatus is provided. The substrate may include a plurality of layers having major surfaces thereof bonded together forming a laminate with openings for receiving and mounting first, second, third and fourth gas supply components on an outer major surface. The substrate may include a first gas channel extending across an interior major surface that at least partially overlaps a second gas channel extending across a different interior major surface. The substrate may include a first gas conduit including the first gas channel connecting the first gas supply component to the second gas supply component, and a second gas conduit including the second channel connecting the third gas supply component to the fourth gas supply component. Also disclosed are various techniques for manufacturing gas delivery substrates.

Various embodiments include an apparatus to supply precursor gases to a processing tool. In various examples, the apparatus includes a point-of-use (POU) valve manifold that includes a manifold body to couple to a processing chamber of the processing tool. The manifold body has a multiple precursor-gas outlet ports surrounded by an annulus. A purge-gas outlet port of the manifold body is directed substantially toward interior walls of the annulus. For each of multiple precursor gases, the POU-valve manifold further includes: a first valve coupled to the manifold body and a divert valve coupled to the first valve. The first valve can be coupled to a precursor-gas supply and has a separate precursor-gas flow path internal to the manifold body. The divert valve diverts the precursor gas during a period when the precursor gas is not to be directed into the processing chamber by the first valve. Other examples are disclosed.

A method and apparatus for delivering gases to a semiconductor processing system are provided. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a gas inlet line having an inlet valve; a gas outlet line having an outlet valve; a gas flow controller arranged to control the flow through the inlet valve; an orifice contained within at least one of the gas outlet line, the outlet valve, a chemical ampoule outlet valve, or outlet isolation valve; a chemical ampoule fluidly coupled to at least one of the gas inlet line and the gas outlet line; and a processing chamber. In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes a check valve, one or more orifices, and/or a heated divert line.

A vacuum gauge protector for deposition systems includes a body comprising an input port that is configured to couple to a vacuum chamber, and an output port configured to couple to a vacuum gauge. A deposition material filter is positioned in the body to present a tortuous path to gases comprising deposition materials entering the body where the surface area of the deposition material filter is greater than 2000 mm.sup.2. In addition, the deposition material filter restricts deposition material from passing through the body to the output port so as to reduce vacuum gauge contamination while maintaining enough gas flow through the body to the output port so that the vacuum gauge response time can be less than 10 seconds.