A covered cutting tool having a cemented carbide and a covering layer formed on the cemented carbide. The covered cutting tool includes a rake face, a flank face, and a cutting edge line part located between the rake face and the flank face. The coating layer includes a compound layer containing a compound having a composition represented by (Al.sub.xTi.sub.1-x)N. The average thickness T.sub.1 of the covering layer in the cutting edge line part and the average thickness T.sub.2 of the coating layer in the rake face at a position 2 mm or more away from the cutting edge line part toward the rake face are within specific ranges and satisfy T.sub.2<T.sub.1. The residual stress S.sub.1 of the cemented carbide in the cutting edge line part and the residual stress S.sub.2 of the cemented carbide in the rake face at a position 2 mm or more away from the cutting edge line part toward the rake face satisfy S.sub.2<S.sub.1.

In the thermal treatment of substrates, a susceptor is used to hold at least one substrate. The susceptor can be heated with a heater and driven in rotation about a rotation axis by a rotary drive. Means are provided to influence the heat transfer to or from the susceptor in a locally limited manner, synchronized with the rotary movement of the susceptor, to equalize local temperature differences on the rotating susceptor. In particular, a temperature control gas with changing heat conduction properties is periodically fed in a pulsed manner through a feed opening into a gap between the susceptor and a cooling unit.

A surface-coated cutting tool includes a substrate and a coating film that coats the substrate, wherein the coating film includes a hard coating layer constituted of a domain region and a matrix region, the domain region is a region having a plurality of portions divided and distributed in the matrix region, the domain region has a structure in which a first layer composed of a first Al.sub.x1Ti.sub.(1-x1) compound and a second layer composed of a second Al.sub.x2Ti.sub.(1-x2) compound are layered on each other, the matrix region has a structure in which a third layer composed of a third Al.sub.x3Ti.sub.(1-x3) compound and a fourth layer composed of a fourth Al.sub.x4Ti.sub.(1-x4) compound are layered on each other, the first AlTi compound, the second AlTi compound and the fourth AlTi compound have a cubic crystal structure, the third AlTi compound has a hexagonal crystal structure.

A susceptor for a CVD reactor includes a bearing surface for supporting a substrate holder. A carrier gas is fed into an inner radial zone, in order to floatingly cushion a substrate holder supported above the bearing surface. The gas fed into the inner radial zone leaves a second radial zone through discharge channels and to a slight extent through a gap surrounding the second radial zone and assigned to a third radial zone. The cross-sectional area of the discharge channels and the radial length of the gap are dimensioned such that the volumetric flow of the gas through the discharge channels is greater than through the gap if the latter has a gap height of 200 μm.

Exemplary semiconductor processing systems may include a pumping system, a chamber body that defines a processing region, and a pumping liner disposed within the processing region. The pumping liner may define an annular member characterized by a wall that defines an exhaust aperture coupled to the pumping system. The annular member may be characterized by an inner wall that defines a plurality of apertures distributed circumferentially along the inner wall. A plenum may be defined in the annular member between interior surfaces of the walls. A divider may be disposed within the plenum, where the divider separates the plenum into a first plenum chamber and a second plenum chamber, wherein the first plenum chamber is fluidly accessible from the apertures defined through the inner wall, and wherein the divider defines at least one aperture providing fluid access between the first plenum chamber and the second plenum chamber.

Provided is a plasma processing apparatus including: a plurality of gas supply nozzles which are provided on a wall surface of a processing container and supply process gas toward the inside of the processing container in a radial direction; N microwave introducing modules of which the number disposed in a circumferential direction of a ceiling plate of the processing container so as to introduce microwaves for generating plasma into the processing container, in which N≥2; and M sensors provided on the wall surface of the processing container so as to monitor at least any one of electron density Ne and electron temperature Te of the plasma generated in the processing container, in which M equals to N or a multiple of N.

A first main surface is a (000-1) plane or a plane inclined by an angle of less than or equal to 8° relative to the (000-1) plane. A reaction chamber has a cross-sectional area of more than or equal to 132 cm.sup.2 and less than or equal to 220 cm.sup.2 in a plane perpendicular to a direction of movement of a mixed gas. When an X axis indicates a first value and a Y axis indicates a second value, the first value and the second value fall within a hexagonal region surrounded by first coordinates, second coordinates, third coordinates, fourth coordinates, fifth coordinates and sixth coordinates in XY plane coordinates, where the first coordinates are (0.038, 0.0019), the second coordinates are (0.069, 0.0028), the third coordinates are (0.177, 0.0032), the fourth coordinates are (0.038, 0.0573), the fifth coordinates are (0.069, 0.0849), and the sixth coordinates are (0.177, 0.0964).

A method for operating a substrate processing system includes delivering precursor gas to a chamber using a showerhead that includes a head portion and a stem portion. The head portion includes an upper surface, a sidewall, a lower planar surface, and a cylindrical cavity and extends radially outwardly from one end of the stem portion towards sidewalls of the chamber. The showerhead is connected, using a collar, to an upper surface of the chamber. The collar is arranged around the stem portion. Process gas is flowed into the cylindrical cavity via the stem portion and through a plurality of holes in the lower planar surface to distribute the process gas into the chamber. A purge gas is supplied through slots of the collar into a cavity defined between the head portion and an upper surface of the chamber.

A film forming apparatus includes: a processing container; a support mechanism configured to support a substrate to be capable of being raised and lowered; a first gas supplier configured to supply a first gas to a front surface of the substrate supported on the support mechanism; a second gas supplier configured to supply a second gas to a rear surface of the substrate supported on the support mechanism; and a third gas supplier configured to supply a third gas to at least one of the front surface and the rear surface of the substrate supported on the support mechanism.

A cutting tool including a rake face, a flank face, and a cutting edge portion, comprising a substrate and an AlTiN layer, the AlTiN layer including cubic Al.sub.xTi.sub.1-xN crystal grains, Al having an atomic ratio x of 0.7 or more and less than 0.95, the AlTiN layer including a central portion, the central portion at the rake face being occupied in area by (200) oriented crystal grains at a ratio of 80% or more, the central portion at the cutting edge portion being occupied in area by (200) oriented crystal grains at a ratio of 50% or more and less than 80%.