There is provided a system for processing a substrate under a depressurized environment. The system comprises: a processing chamber configured to perform desired processing on a substrate; a transfer chamber having a transfer mechanism configured to import or export the substrate into or from the processing chamber; and a controller configured to control a processing process in the processing chamber. The transfer mechanism comprises: a fork configured to hold the substrate on an upper surface; and a sensor provided in the fork and configured to measure an internal state of the processing chamber. The controller is configured to control the processing process in the processing chamber on the basis of the internal state of the processing chamber measured by the sensor.

Described herein is a technique capable of improving the uniformity of the film formation among the substrates. According to the technique described herein, there is provided a configuration including: a reaction tube having a process chamber where a plurality of substrates are processed; a buffer chamber protruding outward from the reaction tube and configured to supply a process gas to the process chamber, the buffer chamber including: a first nozzle chamber where a first nozzle is provided; and a second nozzle chamber where a second nozzle is provided; an opening portion provided at a lower end of an inner wall of the reaction tube facing the buffer chamber; and a shielding portion provided at a communicating portion of the opening portion between the second nozzle chamber and the process chamber.

A plasma processing apparatus includes a stage having a placing surface on which a workpiece is accommodated; a heater provided in the stage and configured to adjust a temperature of the placing surface of the stage; and a controller. The controller is configured to control a supply power to the heater; measure the supply power in a transient state where the supply power to the heater increases and in a second steady state where the supply power to the heater is stable in an extinguished state of plasma; calculate a heat input amount and a heat resistance by performing a fitting on a calculation model that calculates the supply power in the transient state using the heat input amount from the plasma and the heat resistance between the workpiece and the heater as parameters; and calculate a temperature of the workpiece in the first steady state.

A method may include heating a substrate in a first chamber to a platen temperature, the heating comprising heating the substrate on a platen; measuring the platen temperature in the first chamber using a contact temperature measurement; transferring the substrate to a second chamber after the heating; and measuring a voltage decay after transferring the substrate to the second chamber, using an optical pyrometer to measure pyrometer voltage as a function of time.

A system and method of heating a workpiece to a desired temperature is disclosed. This system and method consider the physical limitations of the temperature device, such as time lag, temperature offset, and calibration, in creating a hybrid approach that heats the workpiece more efficiently. First, the workpiece is heated using open loop control to heat the workpiece to a threshold temperature. After the threshold temperature is reach, a closed loop maintenance mode is utilized. In certain embodiments, an open loop maintenance mode is employed between the open loop warmup mode and the closed loop maintenance mode. Additionally, a method of calibrating a pyrometer using a contact thermocouple is also disclosed.

The device (420) is for supporting substrates in a reaction chamber of an epitaxial reactor; it comprises: a disc-shaped element (422) having a first face (422A) adapted to be upperly positioned when the device (420) is being used and a second face (422B) adapted to be lowerly positioned when the device (420) is being used, said disc-shaped element (422) being adapted to receive a gas flow (F) to rotate the device (420) about an axis (X) thereof, a substrate-supporting element (424) in a single piece with said disc-shaped element (422) and preferably adjacent to said first face (422A), and a shaft (426) coaxial to said disc-shaped element (422), in a single piece with said disc-shaped element (422) and having a first end (426A) at said second face (422B); said shaft (426) has at a second end (426 B) thereof at least a protrusion (428 A, 428B, 428C) whose rotation is adapted to be detected by a pyrometer (430) or a thermographic camera.

A wafer processing apparatus includes a pressure applying element, a rotatable element, a control element, and a heat source. The pressure applying element includes a first pressure applying head having a first working surface and a second pressure applying head having a second working surface. The rotatable element and the pressure applying element are connected. The control element is electrically connected to the rotatable element. The heat source is disposed beside the pressure applying element.

Electrostatic chucks and methods of using electrostatic chucks are disclosed. Exemplary electrostatic chucks include a ceramic body, a heating element embedded within the ceramic body, and two or more temperature measurement devices embedded within the ceramic body. Exemplary methods include measuring temperatures within the electrostatic chuck using two or more vertically spaced-apart temperature measurement devices.

A method includes placing a wafer on a susceptor, wherein the wafer has a first radius, wherein a top surface of the susceptor has a second radius that is greater than the first radius; using microwave radiation to heat the wafer and the susceptor; and removing the wafer from the susceptor.

Embodiments of gas distribution modules for use with rapid thermal processing (RTP) systems and methods of use thereof are provided herein. In some embodiments, a gas distribution module for use with a RTP chamber includes: a first carrier gas line and a first liquid line fluidly coupled to a mixer, the mixer having one or more control valves configured to mix a carrier gas from the first carrier gas line and a liquid from the first liquid line in a desired ratio to form a first mixture; a vaporizer coupled to the mixer and configured to receive the first mixture in a hollow internal volume, the vaporizer having a heater configured to vaporize the first mixture; and a first gas delivery line disposed between the vaporizer and the RTP chamber to deliver the vaporized first mixture to the RTP chamber.