Importance

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Abstract

Methods for depositing material onto workpieces, methods of controlling the delivery of gases in deposition processes, and apparatus for depositing materials onto workpieces. One embodiment of a method for depositing material onto a workpiece comprises placing a micro-device workpiece having a plurality of submicron features in a reactor proximate to outlet ports of a gas distributor in the reactor. This method also includes flowing a gas from a gas supply to a closed compartment of the reactor until the gas reaches a desired pressure within the compartment, and subsequently dispensing the gas from the outlet ports of the gas distributor. The compartment can be in a reaction chamber of the reactor or outside of the reaction chamber. The gas can be dispensed from the outlet ports by opening an outlet valve between the compartment and the outlet ports while also physically displacing the gas from the compartment. The gas can be displaced from the compartment using a piston, diaphragm, bladder or other type of mechanical actuator. In other embodiments, the gas is displaced from the compartment by driving another type of gas through the compartment while the outlet valve is open. As a result, a known volume or mass of the gas is actively displaced from the compartment by driving the gas out of the compartment with a driver that is separate from the gas itself.

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First Claim