Design and Operation of an Optically-Accessible Modular Reactor for Diagnostics of Thermal Thin Film Deposition Processes.

The design and operation of a simple, optically-accessible modular reactor for probing thermal thin film deposition processes, such as atomic layer deposition processes (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), is described. This reactor has a nominal footprint of 225 cm(2) and a mass of approximately 6.6 kg, making it small enough to conveniently function as a modular component of an optical train. The design is simple, making fabrication straightforward and relatively inexpensive. Reactor operation is characterized using two infrared absorption measurements to determine exhaust times for tetrakis(dimethylamino)titanium and water, proto-typical ALD precursors, in a pressure and flow regime commonly used for ALD.