Fluid-assisted thermal management of evaporation sources

Abstract

In various embodiments, evaporation sources for deposition systems are heated and/or cooled via a fluid-based thermal management system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 .- 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A deposition system comprising:
 a deposition chamber having an interior enclosed by one or more chamber walls;   an evaporation source comprising (i) a hollow source body for containing a feedstock material for evaporation thereof, and (ii) an evaporation port for fluidly coupling the source body with the interior of the deposition chamber; and   a thermal management system comprising:
 a reservoir for containing heat-transfer fluid, 
 a conduit for thermally coupling the reservoir with the evaporation source, a portion of the conduit being disposed within the source body so as to directly contact feedstock material disposed within the source body, 
 a temperature-regulation mechanism for heating and/or cooling heat-transfer fluid within the reservoir, and 
 a controller for controlling flow of heated and/or cooled heat-transfer fluid through the conduit between the evaporation source and the reservoir to thereby control a temperature of the evaporation source, whereby heating of the evaporation source at least in part via flow of heated heat-transfer fluid through the conduit results in vaporization of feedstock material in the source body and flow of vaporized feedstock material into the deposition chamber via the evaporation port. 
   
     
     
         15 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein the temperature-regulation mechanism comprises at least one of a heater, a heat exchanger, or a resistive heater. 
     
     
         16 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , further comprising a feedstock material disposed within the source body. 
     
     
         17 . The deposition system of  claim 16 , wherein the feedstock material comprises at least one of phosphorous, sulfur, arsenic, tellurium, or selenium. 
     
     
         18 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein the thermal management system comprises a second heater for heating the evaporation source in tandem with flow of heated heat-transfer fluid through the conduit. 
     
     
         19 . The deposition system of  claim 18 , wherein the second heater comprises at least one of a resistive heater, an electron beam source, a laser source, a thermoelectric heater, or a heat exchanger. 
     
     
         20 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein the thermal management system comprises a second cooler for cooling the evaporation source in tandem with flow of cooled heat-transfer fluid through the conduit. 
     
     
         21 . The deposition system of  claim 20 , wherein the second cooler comprises a source of gas, a heat exchanger, or a thermoelectric cooler. 
     
     
         22 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein:
 the portion of the conduit disposed within the source body so as to directly contact the feedstock material comprises a plurality of discrete, spaced-apart segments of the conduit, each of the segments being disposed so as to directly contact the feedstock material; and   the segments of the conduit are fluidly connected to each other by a second portion of the conduit extending outside of the source body.   
     
     
         23 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein the temperature-regulation mechanism is configured to heat and cool heat-transfer fluid within the reservoir. 
     
     
         24 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to control the temperature of the evaporation source via flow of heated and/or cooled heat-transfer fluid through the conduit over only a portion of an operating temperature range of the evaporation source. 
     
     
         25 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , further comprising heat-transfer fluid disposed within the reservoir. 
     
     
         26 . The deposition system of  claim 25 , wherein the heat-transfer fluid comprises at least one of water, a glycol, a silicone, a dielectric fluid, a fluorocarbon, polyalphaolefin, or a hydrocarbon oil. 
     
     
         27 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein the source body comprises at least one of a refractory metal, a ceramic material, or a nickel-containing alloy. 
     
     
         28 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein one or more surfaces of the source body are lined and/or coated with a lining material. 
     
     
         29 . The deposition system of  claim 28 , wherein the lining material comprises a ceramic material. 
     
     
         30 . The deposition system of  claim 14 , wherein the evaporation source comprises one or more fill ports for introduction of feedstock material therethrough into the source body. 
     
     
         31 . The deposition system of  claim 30 , further comprising a removable cover for covering at least one of the fill ports.