SUBSTRATE LOADING IN AN ALD REACTOR
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to deposition reactors. More particularly,
the invention relates to atomic layer deposition reactors in which material is
deposited on surfaces by sequential self-saturating surface reactions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Atomic Layer Epitaxy (ALE) method was invented by Dr. Tuomo Suntola in the
early 1970's. Another generic name for the method is Atomic Layer Deposition
(ALD) and it is nowadays used instead of ALE. ALD is a special chemical
deposition method based on the sequential introduction of at least two reactive
precursor species to at least one substrate.
Thin films grown by ALD are dense, pinhole free and have uniform thickness. For
example, in an experiment aluminum oxide has been grown by thermal ALD from
trimethylaluminum (CH3)3AI, also referred to as TMA, and water at 250 - 300 °C
resulting in only about 1% non-uniformity over a substrate wafer.
SUMMARY
There are various methods for loading a single substrate or a batch of substrates
into a deposition reactor. Now, it has been observed that certain advantages can
be achieved if substrates are loaded horizontally oriented into a substrate holder in
a loading chamber, and then the substrate holder is turned and lowered into a
reaction chamber for deposition.
According to a first example aspect of the invention there is provided a method
comprising:
loading a plurality of substrates into a substrate holder in a loading chamber of a
deposition reactor to form a vertical stack of horizontally oriented substrates within
said substrate holder; and
turning the substrate holder to form a horizontal stack of vertically oriented
substrates and lowering the substrate holder into a reaction chamber of the
deposition reactor for deposition.
In certain example embodiments, the method comprises moving substrates one at
a time by a loader through a loading port into the loading chamber. In certain
example embodiments, the substrates are moved from a transfer chamber
(external to the deposition reactor) into the loading chamber (of the deposition
reactor). In certain example embodiments, the substrates travel through a loading
port horizontally oriented.
Horizontally oriented basically means that a normal vector of the substrate surface
points to a vertical direction. Vertically oriented, to the contrary, basically means
that a normal vector of the substrate surface points to a horizontal direction.
The substrates may be wafers. The loader may be a loading person or a loading
device, such as a loading robot. The loader may be a single wafer loader. The
loading port may be, for example, simply an opening, a hatch or door, or a load
lock, depending on the implementation. In certain example embodiments, a loader
picks up a substrate from a loading device pick up and return station and transfers
(moves) it into the loading chamber. The transfer may occur via a transfer
chamber or without passing a transfer chamber. The loader may pick up the
substrate from a substrate cassette. The substrates may be horizontally oriented
in the cassette. In certain example embodiments, the method comprises loading
said substrates from a substrate storage carrier by an equipment front end module
into the loading device pick up and return station. The substrates may first reside
in a controlled environment, such as within a shield gas atmosphere (for example,
nitrogen atmosphere) within the substrate storage carrier, such as a FOUP or
similar. The equipment front end module loads the substrates into the loading
device pick up and return station keeping the substrates within the controlled
environment (shield gas atmosphere). Alternatively, the loading device pick up and
return station may be in vacuum. The transfer chamber as well as the loading
chamber may be in vacuum. The loading device pick up and return station may
contain the substrates horizontally oriented in a cassette. If needed, the loading
device pick up and return station may be a cassette-to-cassette station which
transfers substrates from one cassette to another cassette from which the loading
device may better pick up the substrates one at a time. The loading device pick up
and return station may form part of the transfer chamber.
In certain example embodiments, the method comprises:
loading said substrates from a substrate storage carrier by an equipment front end
module into a loading device pick up and return station; and
loading said substrates one at the time from the loading device pick up and return
station via a transfer chamber into the loading chamber.
In certain example embodiments, the deposition reactor comprises a gate between
the loading chamber and the reaction chamber. This may be in order to reduce
cooling of the reaction chamber during the loading of the substrates into the
loading chamber. The gate may be a gate valve. The gate may be in a closed
position during the loading of the substrates into the loading chamber. Upon
completion of the loading, the gate is opened to allow the loaded substrate batch
to be lowered into the reaction chamber. Thereafter, the gate may be closed.
These embodiments are particularly suited for reactors in which the loading
chamber is on top of the reaction chamber. Accordingly, in certain example
embodiments, the method comprises:
providing a gate between the loading chamber and the reaction chamber, the
loading chamber residing on top of the reaction chamber.
In certain example embodiments, the reaction chamber is surrounded by a
vacuum chamber. In these embodiments, it may be convenient that the gate is
located between the vacuum chamber and the loading chamber. If reaction
chamber heaters are located in the vacuum chamber, the gate closing the route
from the vacuum chamber to the loading chamber (on top of the vacuum chamber)
reduces heat transport from the vacuum chamber to the loading chamber. The
gate may close the vacuum chamber from the top during the loading of the
substrates into the loading chamber.
In certain example embodiments, the turning (or flipping) is arranged so that the
turning is a swing-like movement. In certain other example embodiments, the
turning may be a rotating movement. Accordingly, in certain example
embodiments, the method comprises turning the substrate holder by a rotating
movement. In certain example embodiments, the method comprises accessing the
substrate holder from a side by an actuator (or more generally herein and in the
following, a turning mechanism), and turning the substrate holder by the actuator.
In certain example embodiments, the substrate holder comprises a rotation center.
The actuator may be pushed in contact with the rotation center and the substrate
holder may be rotated around a rotation axis at the rotation center. The rotation
axis may be defined by the actuator. In certain example embodiments, the loading
chamber provides a feedthrough through a loading chamber wall (for example,
sidewall) for the actuator to enter the loading chamber. The actuator may return
(move back) via the same feedthrough after turning the substrate holder. If for
example heat reflector plates or similar are integrated to a reaction chamber lid,
these plates then have more room to pass through. In certain example
embodiments, the substrate holder is accessed by a turning mechanism from two
opposite sides. The turning mechanism in these embodiments can comprise two
opposite actuators and two rotation centers.
In certain other example embodiments, the turning may be a free movement
supported by the turning means. In certain example embodiments, the turning is
configured to occur within the loading chamber of the deposition reactor.
In certain example embodiments, the turning is arranged so that the substrate
holder in a loading position (that is, in the position in which the substrates are
being loaded) is closer to loading chamber door (or loading port) than in the turned
position (that is, in the position in which the substrates form the horizontal stack).
In other words, in certain example embodiments, a loaded substrate holder is
turned farther from the loading chamber door.
In certain example embodiments, the method comprises depositing material on the
substrate surfaces by sequential self-saturating surface reactions. Accordingly, in
certain example embodiments, the method comprises:
exposing the plurality of substrates to temporally separated precursor pulses in the
reaction chamber to deposit material on the substrate surfaces by sequential selfsaturating
surface reactions.
According to a second example aspect of the invention there is provided an
apparatus, wherein
a loader is configured to load a plurality of substrates into a substrate holder in a
loading chamber of a deposition reactor to form a vertical stack of horizontally
oriented substrates within said substrate holder, the apparatus comprising:
a turning mechanism configured to turn the substrate holder to form a horizontal
stack of vertically oriented substrates and an elevator configured to lower the
substrate holder into a reaction chamber of the deposition reactor for deposition.
In certain example embodiments, the turning mechanism comprises, for example,
a turning part, or a turning device. The turning mechanism and the elevator may
be a combined means or separate means. The turning and lowering may occur
simultaneously or one after the other. In certain example embodiments, the loader
is configured to move substrates one at a time through a loading port into the
loading chamber.
In certain example embodiments, the apparatus comprises:
a gate between the loading chamber and the reaction chamber, the loading
chamber residing on top of the reaction chamber.
In certain example embodiments, the apparatus comprises:
an equipment front end module configured to load said substrates from a substrate
storage carrier into a loading device pick up and return station; and
a loading device configured to load said substrates one at the time from the
loading device pick up and return station via a transfer chamber into the loading
chamber.
In certain example embodiments, the turning mechanism is configured to turn the
substrate holder by a rotating movement.
In certain example embodiments, the turning mechanism is configured to access
the substrate holder from a side, and turn the substrate holder.
In certain example embodiments, the apparatus is configured to turn a loaded
substrate holder farther from the loading chamber door (compared to a loading
position).
In certain example embodiments, the apparatus comprises a plurality of deposition
reactors positioned in a pre-determined pattern in relation to each other, and the
loading device is configured to load each of the deposition reactors. Thus, a
reactor cluster system can be formed.
Different non-binding example aspects and embodiments of the present invention
have been illustrated in the foregoing. The above embodiments are used merely to
explain selected aspects or steps that may be utilized in implementations of the
present invention. Some embodiments may be presented only with reference to
certain example aspects of the invention. It should be appreciated that
corresponding embodiments may apply to other example aspects as well. Any
appropriate combinations of the embodiments may be formed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a side view of a deposition reactor and a substrate loader
in accordance with an example embodiment;
Fig. 2 shows a side view of the deposition reactor of Fig. 1 during
deposition in accordance with an example embodiment;
Figs. 3A-3C show examples of turning a substrate holder within a deposition
reactor in accordance with certain example embodiments;
Fig. 4 shows a deposition reactor cluster in accordance with an
example embodiment;
Fig. 5 shows turning of a substrate holder in accordance with a specific
example embodiment; and
Fig. 6 shows a side view of a deposition reactor in accordance with yet
another example embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following description, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology is used as
an example. The basics of an ALD growth mechanism are known to a skilled
person. As mentioned in the introductory portion of this patent application, ALD is
a special chemical deposition method based on the sequential introduction of at
least two reactive precursor species to at least one substrate. The at least one
substrate is exposed to temporally separated precursor pulses in the reaction
chamber to deposit material on the substrate surfaces by sequential self-saturating
surface reactions.
A basic ALD deposition cycle consists of four sequential steps: pulse A, purge A,
pulse B and purge B. Pulse A consists of a first precursor vapor and pulse B of
another precursor vapor. Inactive gas and a vacuum pump are used for purging
gaseous reaction by-products and the residual reactant molecules from the
reaction space during purge A and purge B. A deposition sequence comprises at
least one deposition cycle. Deposition cycles are repeated until the deposition
sequence has produced a thin film or coating of desired thickness. Deposition
cycles can also be more complex. For example, the cycles can include three or
more reactant vapor pulses separated by purging steps. All these deposition
cycles form a timed deposition sequence that is controlled by a logic unit or a
microprocessor.
Fig. 1 shows a side view of a deposition reactor and a substrate loader in
accordance with an example embodiment. The deposition reactor comprises a
vacuum chamber 104 housing a reaction chamber 103. The vacuum chamber 104
is limited on its top side by a vacuum chamber top flange 113 and on the bottom
side by a vacuum chamber bottom 115 . The reaction chamber 103 inside the
vacuum chamber 104 instead is limited on its top side by a reaction chamber top
flange 114. On the bottom of the reaction chamber 103 is an exhaust line 105
extending towards a vacuum pump (not shown). Fig. 1 also shows precursor vapor
in-feed lines 106 passing through the vacuum chamber bottom 115 .
On top of the reaction chamber 103 is a loading chamber 102. On the side of the
loading chamber 102 attached to the loading chamber 102 the deposition reactor
comprises a loading port 10 1 for loading and unloading substrates by a loader
13 1. In certain example embodiments, the loading port 10 1 may be a gate valve, a
load lock or simply a door. A substrate fits through the loading port 10 1 as
horizontally oriented (but not as vertically oriented, in this example embodiment).
A lifting mechanism, an elevator, such as an indexing mechanism, 141 is attached
to the loading chamber 102. In the example shown in Fig. 1 the lifting mechanism
is attached to the top of the loading chamber 102. Within the loading chamber, a
substrate holder 12 1 is attached to the lifting mechanism 141 . Depending on the
implementation, a reaction chamber lid 112 may be attached to the substrate
holder 112 and/or to the lifting mechanism 141 .
The lifting mechanism 141 controls the vertical position of the substrate holder
12 1. In an example embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the lifting mechanism 141
comprises a motor, such as a step motor, that moves a lifting rod 142 attached or
connected to the reaction chamber lid 112 and/or to the substrate holder 12 1
upwards and downwards as desired. The substrate holder 12 1, although drawn
due to drawing-specific reasons with uniform closed outlines, may be as open as
possible.
Substrates 120 are loaded to and unloaded from the loading chamber 102 via the
loading port 10 1 by the loader 13 1 . The loader 13 1 may be a robot. Fig. 1 shows
the loader 13 1 comprising an extending loading arm 132 by which the loader grips
a substrate 120. The loader 13 1 moves the substrate 120 that is horizontally
oriented through the loading port 10 1 into the substrate holder 12 1. The substrate
holder 12 1 has suitable supports 122a and 122b to hold the substrate 120. The
supports 122a are, in this example, located at the bottom of the substrate holder
12 1 (the bottom in this loading position pointing towards a side) and supports 122b
in the middle area. The loader 13 1 then picks the next substrate from a storage
area or shelf (not shown). The lifting mechanism 141 lowers the substrate holder
12 1 to the position of the next substrate. The loader 13 1 moves the next
horizontally oriented substrate 120 through the loading port 101 into the substrate
holder 12 1, and so on.
When all substrates have been loaded into the substrate holder 12 1, a vertical
stack of horizontally oriented substrates has been formed within the substrate
holder 12 1. The substrate holder 12 1 is then turned 90 degrees to form a
horizontal stack of vertically oriented substrates. And, the substrate holder 12 1 is
lowered into the reaction chamber 103 by the lifting mechanism 141 . The turning
and lowering steps are illustrated by arrows 190.
The resulting situation is shown in the rightmost drawing of Fig. 2 which shows the
deposition reactor of Fig. 1 with the lifting mechanism 141 in its lowest position. In
this position the reaction chamber 103 is sealed from the top side with the lowered
reaction chamber lid 112, and ALD processing may occur. However, it should be
noted that it is not necessary to have the reaction chamber lid 112 attached to the
lifting mechanism 141 , but other ways to close the reaction chamber 103 by a lid
are also possible. Further, the vacuum chamber 104 is in some example
embodiments closed by a lid to separate the vacuum chamber 104 and the loading
chamber 102 during ALD processing. A vacuum chamber lid for that purpose may
be integrated to the lifting mechanism similarly as the reaction chamber lid 112 .
The leftmost drawing of Fig. 2, on the other hand, shows a side view of the
substrate holder 12 1 from the other side direction as depicted by arrow 20 in an
example embodiment. This example embodiment illustrates an example in which
the substrate holder 12 1 can be turned by means of rotation around a rotation
axis. Hanger parts or plates 223 are attached to the reaction chamber lid 112 . The
substrate holder sides or side plates 221 are connected to the hanger parts or
plates 223 at the point of rotation centers 224. The substrate holder is rotatable
around the rotation axis defined by the rotation centers 224.
Turning back to the rightmost drawing of Fig. 2, during ALD processing, precursor
vapor flows into the reaction chamber 103 from precursor vapor sources (not
shown) via in-feed lines 106. In the present example, the in-feed lines 106 pass
via channels arranged into the reaction chamber lid 112. The gas in-feed into the
reaction chamber 103 occurs from the top of the reaction chamber 103. The flow
direction within the reaction chamber 103 is from top to bottom between the
vertically oriented substrates (and along the substrate surfaces) towards the
exhaust line 105.
The method of turning the substrate holder 12 1 from a first orientation (with a
vertical stack of horizontally oriented substrates) into a second orientation (with a
horizontal stack of vertically oriented substrates) may occur in many alternative
ways. Certain examples are shown in Figs. 3A-3C.
Fig. 3A shows one rough example of turning by a rotating movement. In this
example, a turning mechanism 380a has been attached to the substrate holder
321 a, in Fig. 3A at the center of one or two sides of the substrate holder 321a. The
turning mechanism 380a forces the substrate holder 321 a to rotate 90 degrees
around a joint or similar rotation center (an example has been shown in the
leftmost drawing of Fig. 2).
Fig. 3B shows one rough example of turning by a swing-like movement. In this
example, a turning mechanism 380b has been attached to the substrate holder
321 b, in Fig. 3B close to the bottom of one or two sides of the substrate holder
321 b. The turning mechanism 380b forces the substrate holder 321 b to turn 90
degrees by a swing-like movement around an axis defined by the turning
mechanism 380b. The position of the substrate holder 321 b moves in the
horizontal direction due to the swing-like movement. This kind of embodiment with
swing-like movement suits well for an implementation which requires a loading
distance to be minimized, since the substrate holder in a loading position in this
kind of embodiment is closer to the loading port than in the turned position.
However, in other embodiments, the same effect is achieved, for example, by
moving the substrate holder by a translational movement and then rotating as in
Fig. 3A.
In the embodiments shown in Figs. 3A and 3B the turning mechanisms may be
attached to the lifting mechanism 141 .
Fig. 3C shows one rough example of turning by a free movement supported by a
turning mechanism. In this example, a turning mechanism 380c has been attached
to the wall of the loading chamber 102. The turning mechanism 380c has a
gripping part that grips the substrate holder 321 c and turns it by 90 degrees.
In the preceding and further example embodiments, the substrates may be plate
like substrates, such as wafers. The lifting mechanism and turning mechanism(s)
may form a combined mechanism or they may be separate mechanisms. The
turning and lowering of the substrate holder may occur simultaneously or one after
the other.
A loader may pick up a substrate at a storage area or shelf, for example from a
substrate cassette, and transfer it via a transfer chamber into the loading chamber,
wherein the loader resides at least partly in the transfer chamber. The transfer
chamber and the loading chamber may be in vacuum. The storage area or shelf
themselves may reside in the transfer chamber or in connection with the transfer
chamber.
In certain example embodiments, the loader may be a loading person or a loading
device, such as a loading robot. The loader may be a single wafer loader. The
loading port to the loading chamber may be, for example, simply an opening, a
hatch or door, or a load lock, depending on the implementation. In certain example
embodiments, a loader picks up a substrate from a loading device pick up and
return station and transfers (moves) it into the loading chamber. The transfer may
occur via a transfer chamber or without passing a transfer chamber. The loader
may pick up the substrate from a substrate cassette. The substrates may be
horizontally oriented in the cassette. In certain example embodiments, the
substrates are loaded from a substrate storage carrier by an equipment front end
module into the loading device pick up and return station. The substrates may first
reside in a controlled environment, such as within a shield gas atmosphere (for
example, nitrogen atmosphere) within the substrate storage carrier, such as a
FOUP or similar. The equipment front end module unloads the substrates into the
loading device pick up and return station keeping the substrates within the
controlled environment (shield gas atmosphere). Alternatively, the loading device
pick up and return station may be in vacuum. The transfer chamber as well as the
loading chamber may be in vacuum. In alternative embodiments, the transfer
chamber and the loading chamber may be in shield gas atmosphere. The loading
device pick up and return station may contain the substrates horizontally oriented
in a cassette. If needed, the loading device pick up and return station may be a
cassette-to-cassette station which transfers substrates from one cassette to
another cassette from which the loading device may better pick up the substrates
one at a time. The loading device pick up and return station may form part of the
transfer chamber.
In certain example embodiments, a plurality of deposition reactors are positioned
in a pre-determined pattern in relation to each other to form a reactor cluster. One
such a cluster is shown in Fig. 4 . In this example, the reactor cluster comprises
three deposition reactors 400a, 400b and 400c. The deposition reactors are
connected by loading ports 401a, 401 b and 401 c, respectively, to a transfer
chamber 460 residing in the center area. A single substrate loader (or loading
robot) 431 at least partly residing in the transfer chamber 460 is configured to load
each of the deposition reactors 400a-c.
The substrates first reside in a controlled environment within an ultra-clean
substrate storage carrier 403. The substrate storage carrier 403 is input into an
equipment front end module 404 which unloads the substrates into a loading
device pick up and return station 405 so that the substrates remain in a controlled
environment without being exposed to surrounding air. In the loading device pick
up and return station 405, a loading device can pick up the substrates one at a
time for loading and return them after ALD processing. Depending on the
implementation, the equipment front end module 404 may handle one or more
substrate storage carriers 403 simultaneously. Consequently, the loading device
pick up and return station 405 may contain one or more substrate cassettes 450 at
each time for the loading device to operate.
Fig. 4 shows two substrate cassettes 450 at the loading device pick up and return
station 405. The substrate cassettes 450 illustrate substrate cassettes with
substrates on top of each other forming a vertical stack. In an alternative
embodiment, the substrates in the cassettes may be next to each other forming a
horizontal stack vertically oriented substrates.
In an example embodiment, the loader 431 comprises an extending loading arm
432 (extending back and forth) by which the loader 432 grips a substrate. The
loader 431 moves the substrate through the loading port 401 a into a substrate
holder of the first reactor 400a similarly as shown in connection with Fig. 1.
Loading of the other deposition reactors 400b-c occurs similarly. If the substrate is
not horizontally oriented in the beginning (vertically oriented in an alternative
embodiment), the loader 431 turns the substrate into a horizontal position before
entering the loading port 401a. For that purpose, the extending arm 432 of the
loader 431 may be rotatable. The loader 431 itself is also rotatable. It may also be
capable of translational movement. In a more advanced embodiment, a loader
comprises a joint or similar at which an arm can be turned downwards so that the
loader can pick up substrates, for example, from the top side of a substrate
cassette (in addition of being capable of picking them from a side).
In certain example embodiments, the loading device pick up and return station
405, the transfer chamber 460 and the loading chambers of the deposition
reactors 400a-c are in vacuum. The system may be a fully automatic system. In a
less sophisticated system, the loading ports 401 a-c are implemented as load
locks, and the substrates are loaded into the loading chambers of reactors 400a-c
manually. The transfer chamber 460 can be omitted, and the loading chambers
may be pumped into vacuum as desired.
Fig. 5 shows turning of a substrate holder 500 within a loading chamber 502 in
accordance with a specific example embodiment. In this example embodiment,
substrates 520 are received horizontally oriented into the loading chamber 502 via
a loading port 501 . The elevator (not shown) lifts or lowers the substrate holder
500 so that each substrate 520 in turn can be pushed to its place. The substrates
520 are supported by supports in the substrate holder 500 similarly as shown in
Figs. 1 and 2 . The supports 522b (corresponding to supports 122b in Figs. 1 and
2) are partly shown in the top-left drawing of Fig. 5 .
Hanger plates 523 (one of which is shown in Fig. 5) are attached to a reaction
chamber lid (not shown). The substrate holder side plates 521 (one of which is
shown in Fig. 5) are connected to the hanger plates 523 at the point of rotation
centers 524 (one of which is shown in Fig. 5). The substrate holder is rotatable
around the rotation axis defined by the rotation centers 524. An actuator pin 550 is
pushed through the sidewall of the loading chamber 502 at the point of a loading
chamber wall feedthrough 551 . The shaped end plug of the actuator pin 550 is
pushed into a correspondingly shaped socket in the rotation center 524 as
illustrated in the top-right drawing of Fig. 5. A corresponding pin (not shown) is
pushed into the rotation center of the opposite side of the substrate holder 500.
The substrate holder 500 is rotated by turning one or both of the actuator pins 550,
as depicted by the arrow in the bottom-right drawing of Fig. 5 . The bottom-right
drawing of Fig. 5 illustrates the position in which the substrate holder 500 has
turned around 45 degrees, and the bottom-left drawing of Fig. 5 the position in
which the substrate holder 500 has turned around 90 degrees to form a horizontal
stack of vertically oriented substrates.
The rotating action in an example embodiment is illustrated in more detail in the
magnification picture set between the top-left and bottom-left drawings. The
magnification picture set shows in black colour the rotation center 524 with the
socket. The rotation center 524 further comprises two fins, at the interval of 90
degrees. The rotation center 524 is located in a hole of the hanger plate 523. In
the top-left drawing of Fig. 5, the first fin of the rotation center 524 is in a side slot
of the hanger plate hole locking the substrate holder 500 in its initial position. The
hole is slightly larger than the rotation center 524. In the next phase the reaction
chamber elevator (see Figs. 1 and 2) lowers the hanger plates 523 with respect to
the substrate holder side plates 521 that remain in their previous vertical position
due to the actuator pins pushing from the sides. This movement frees the rotation
centers 524 so that they can be rotated. The actuator pins 550 now turn the
substrate holder 90 degrees. In the last phase, the reaction chamber elevator lifts
the hanger plates 523 with respect to the substrate holder side plates 521 so that
the second fin of the rotation center 524 moves into the side slot thereby locking
the substrate holder 500 into the 90 degrees turned position.
The actuator pins may be pneumatic. Two actuator pins can support the substrate
holder so that one actuator pin supports the substrate holder on a first side and the
other on the opposite side. The actuators may be designed to be of another shape
depending on the implementation. In certain embodiments, the loading chamber
wall feedthrough 551 is a rotation feedthrough. The bearings for the rotation
movement are placed on the outside of the loading chamber.
Fig. 6 shows a side view of a deposition reactor in accordance with yet another
example embodiment. In this embodiment, the deposition reactor comprises a
gate 670 between the loading chamber 102 and the reaction chamber 103. This
may be in order to reduce cooling of the reaction chamber 103 during the loading
of the substrates into the loading chamber 102 that resides on top of the reaction
chamber 103. The gate 670 may be a gate valve. The gate 670 may be in a closed
position during the loading of the substrates into the loading chamber 102 as
depicted by the lower drawing of Fig. 6 . Upon completion of the loading, the gate
670 is opened (as depicted by the upper drawing of Fig. 6) to allow the loaded
substrate batch to be lowered into the reaction chamber 103. Otherwise,
concerning the structure and operation of the embodiment shown in Fig. 6
reference is made to the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 2 .
Without limiting the scope and interpretation of the patent claims, certain technical
effects of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein are listed in
the following: A technical effect is a top loading system for a vertical flow
deposition reactor in which the substrates can be loaded as horizontally oriented.
Another technical effect is eliminating the need for flipping each substrate
separately by flipping the whole substrate holder (especially, if the substrates are
stored horizontally oriented). Another technical effect is minimizing a loading
distance in a reactor cluster.
The foregoing description has provided by way of non-limiting examples of
particular implementations and embodiments of the invention a full and informative
description of the best mode presently contemplated by the inventors for carrying
out the invention. It is however clear to a person skilled in the art that the invention
is not restricted to details of the embodiments presented above, but that it can be
implemented in other embodiments using equivalent means without deviating from
the characteristics of the invention.
Furthermore, some of the features of the above-disclosed embodiments of this
invention may be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other
features. As such, the foregoing description should be considered as merely
illustrative of the principles of the present invention, and not in limitation thereof.
Hence, the scope of the invention is only restricted by the appended patent claims.

claim
A method comprising:
loading a plurality of substrates into a substrate holder in a loading chamber
of a deposition reactor to form a vertical stack of horizontally oriented
substrates within said substrate holder; and
turning the substrate holder to form a horizontal stack of vertically oriented
substrates and lowering the substrate holder into a reaction chamber of the
deposition reactor for deposition.
The method of claim 1, wherein the loading comprises moving substrates one
at a time by a loader through a loading port into the loading chamber.
The method of claim 1 or 2, comprising:
providing a gate between the loading chamber and the reaction chamber,
the loading chamber residing on top of the reaction chamber.
The method of any preceding claim, comprising:
loading said substrates from a substrate storage carrier by an equipment
front end module into a loading device pick up and return station; and
loading said substrates one at the time from the loading device pick up and
return station via a transfer chamber into the loading chamber.
The method of any preceding claim, comprising turning the substrate holder by
a rotating movement.
The method of any preceding claim, comprising accessing the substrate
holder from a side by an actuator, and turning the substrate holder by the
actuator.
The method of any preceding claim, comprising:
exposing the plurality of substrates to temporally separated precursor
pulses in the reaction chamber to deposit material on the substrate surfaces
by sequential self-saturating surface reactions.
8 . An apparatus, wherein
a loader is configured to load a plurality of substrates into a substrate holder
in a loading chamber of a deposition reactor to form a vertical stack of
horizontally oriented substrates within said substrate holder, the apparatus
comprising:
a turning mechanism configured to turn the substrate holder to form a
horizontal stack of vertically oriented substrates and an elevator configured to
lower the substrate holder into a reaction chamber of the deposition reactor for
deposition.
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the loader is configured to move substrates
one at a time through a loading port into the loading chamber.
. The apparatus of claim 8 or 9, comprising:
a gate between the loading chamber and the reaction chamber, the loading
chamber residing on top of the reaction chamber.
11. The apparatus of any preceding claim 8-1 0, comprising:
an equipment front end module configured to load said substrates from a
substrate storage carrier into a loading device pick up and return station; and
a loading device configured to load said substrates one at the time from the
loading device pick up and return station via a transfer chamber into the
loading chamber.
12 . The apparatus of any preceding claim 8-1 1, wherein the turning mechanism is
configured to turn the substrate holder by a rotating movement.
13 . The apparatus of any preceding claim 8-1 2, wherein the turning mechanism is
configured to access the substrate holder from a side, and turn the substrate
holder.
14. The apparatus of any preceding claim 8-1 3, wherein the apparatus comprises
a plurality of deposition reactors positioned in a pre-determined pattern in
relation to each other, and the loading device is configured to load each of the
deposition reactors.