Abstract: An epitaxial reactor enabling simultaneous deposition of thin films on a multiplicity of wafers is disclosed. During deposition, a number of wafers are contained within a wafer sleeve comprising a number of wafer carrier plates spaced closely apart. Process gases flow preferentially into the interior volume of the wafer sleeve, which is heated by one or more lamp modules. To improve uniformity, the direction of process gas flow may be varied in a cross-flow configuration and the wafers may be mounted at a small angle to the plane of the wafer carrier plates, wherein the wafers are configured in pairs along the direction of gas flow and wherein along the direction of gas flow the angular mounting of the wafers provides a smaller gap between opposed wafer surfaces on said parallel wafer carrier plates in the center of said wafer sleeve than at the periphery of said wafer sleeve.

Abstract: The present invention provides a capacitor having upper and lower electrodes formed of iridium or iridium oxide or combinations thereof. The electrodes are preferably formed using physical vapor deposition. An insulating layer disposed between the electrodes can be a ferroelectric ceramic such as PZT or PLZT.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for forming thin polymer layers on semiconductor substrates. In one embodiment, the method and apparatus include the sublimation of stable dimer parylene material, the pyrolytic conversion of such gaseous dimer material into reactive monomers, and for the optional blending of the resulting gaseous parylene monomers with one or more polymerizable materials in gaseous form capable of copolymerizing with the parylene monomers to form a low dielectric constant polymerized parylene material. An apparatus is also disclosed which provides for the distribution of the polymerizable gases into the deposition chamber, for cooling the substrate down to a temperature at which the gases will condense to form a polymerized dielectric material, for heating the walls of the deposition chamber to inhibit formation and accumulation of polymerized residues thereon, and for recapturing unreacted monomeric vapors exiting the deposition chamber.