Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatus and methods for semiconductor processing, more particularly, to a thermal process chamber. The thermal process chamber includes a substrate support, a first plurality of heating elements disposed over or below the substrate support, and a spot heating module disposed over the substrate support. The spot heating module is utilized to provide local heating of cold regions on a substrate disposed on the substrate support during processing. Localized heating of the substrate improves temperature profile, which in turn improves deposition uniformity.

The invention is related to a method of using a thermal laser evaporation (TLE) system (100), the system (100) comprising a reaction chamber (10) fillable with a reaction atmosphere (14), one or more sources (30) arranged in the reaction chamber (10), each source (30) comprising a source material (32), and a laser source (50) for providing laser radiation (52) at a surface (34) of the source (30) and thereby evaporating the source material (32). Further, the invention is related to a thermal laser evaporation system (100) comprising a reaction chamber (10) fillable with a reaction atmosphere (14), one or more sources (30) arranged in the reaction chamber (10), each source comprising a source material (32), and coupling means (12) provided by the reaction chamber (10) for coupling laser radiation (52) into the reaction chamber (10) for impinging on a surface (34) of the source (30) and thereby evaporating the source material (32).

The invention is related to a method of using a thermal laser evaporation (TLE) system (100), the system (100) comprising a reaction chamber (10) fillable with a reaction atmosphere (14), one or more sources (30) arranged in the reaction chamber (10), each source (30) comprising a source material (32), and a laser source (50) for providing laser radiation (52) at a surface (34) of the source (30) and thereby sublimating the source material (32). Further, the invention is related to a thermal laser evaporation system (100) comprising a reaction chamber (10) fillable with a reaction atmosphere (14), one or more sources (30) arranged in the reaction chamber (10), each source comprising a source material (32), and coupling means (12) provided by the reaction chamber (10) for coupling laser radiation (52) into the reaction chamber (10) for impinging on a surface (34) of the source (30) and thereby sublimating the source material (32).

The present invention generally describes apparatuses and methods used to perform an annealing process on desired regions of a substrate. In one embodiment, pulses of electromagnetic energy are delivered to a substrate using a flash lamp or laser apparatus. The pulses may be from about 1 nsec to about 10 msec long, and each pulse has less energy than that required to melt the substrate material. The interval between pulses is generally long enough to allow the energy imparted by each pulse to dissipate completely. Thus, each pulse completes a micro-anneal cycle. The pulses may be delivered to the entire substrate at once, or to portions of the substrate at a time. Further embodiments provide an apparatus for powering a radiation assembly, and apparatuses for detecting the effect of pulses on a substrate.

The present invention discloses a method for the controlled guidance of corrosion by the action of a laser beam. This method enables the selective adjustment of the speed of corrosion in each area of a target component and, therefore, the driving of the corrosion towards the areas of interest. With the application of this method, the corrosion process is guided by the laser treatment and becomes predictable and controllable. The method is applicable in all those sectors of activity where it is necessary to control corrosion.

The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatuses adapted to perform additive manufacturing (AM) processes and the resulting products made therefrom, and specifically, to AM processes that employ an energy beam to selectively fuse a base material to produce an object. More particularly, the invention relates to methods and systems that use reactive fluids to actively manipulate the surface chemistry of the base material prior to, during and/or after the AM process.

The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatuses adapted to perform additive manufacturing (AM) processes and the resulting products made therefrom, and specifically, to AM processes that employ an energy beam to selectively fuse a base material to produce an object. More particularly, the invention relates to methods and systems that use reactive fluids to actively manipulate the surface chemistry of the base material prior to, during and/or after the AM process.