A processing system is disclosed for conducting various processes on
substrates, such as semiconductor wafers by varying the exposure to a
chemical ambient. The processing system includes a processing region
having an inlet and an outlet for flowing fluids through the chamber. The
outlet is in communication with a conductance valve that is positioned in
between the processing region outlet and a vacuum exhaust channel. The
conductance valve rapidly oscillates or rotates between open and closed
positions for controlling conductance through the processing region. This
feature is coupled with the ability to rapidly pulse chemical species
through the processing region while simultaneously controlling the
pressure in the processing region. Of particular advantage, the
conductance valve is capable of transitioning the processing region
through pressure transitions of as great as 100:1 while chemical species
are flowed through the processing region using equally fast control
valves in a synchronous pulsed fashion.