Epitaxial barrel reactor with a cooling system and method of operating it

摘要

Barrel reactor apparatus for chemical vapor deposition of a material on a semiconductor wafer having a cooling system (74) which protects the semiconductor wafers from metals contamination caused by degradation of metallic surfaces of the barrel reactor (11). Degradation is caused by water reacting with other substances (e.g., HCl) in the barrel reactor (11). The cooling system (74) has a controller (90) which monitors the operational state of the barrel reactor (11) and selects an operating setpoint based on the detected operational condition. As a result, the metallic surfaces of the barrel reactor (11) are kept cool during operation to retard corrosive chemical reaction rates, and kept warmer than would be otherwise possible when the barrel reactor (11) is not operating to prevent adsorption of water by and condensation of water onto the metallic surfaces.