Abstract: In order, on the one hand, to achieve a high mechanical long-term stability of and, on the other hand, to have the possibility of guiding a stream of gas, in particular, a stream of gas consisting of a reactive process gas through a heating block for an apparatus for the thermal treatment of a substrate, in particular, a semiconductor substrate, wherein the apparatus has a space accommodating the substrate and the heating block on at least one side of the space accommodating the substrate, the substrate being treatable thermally by means of the heating block in a mechanically non-contact manner, it is suggested that the heating block be designed as a fiber composite member, that the fiber composite member be designed with passages for a stream of gas passing through it from one flat side to the other flat side.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for thermally treating disk-shaped substrates, especially semiconductor wafers, in a rapid heating unit having at least one first radiation source, which is spaced from a given substrate for heating the substrate. The substrate is heated in a heating phase and is cooled in a cooling phase that follows the heating phase. During at least a portion of the cooling phase, the substrate is supported at a distance of from 50 ?m to 1 mm via ultrasonic levitation from a heating/cooling plate. For example by means of an ultrasonic electrode.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for thermally treating disk-shaped substrates, especially semiconductor wafers, in a rapid heating unit having at least one first radiation source, which is spaced from a given substrate for heating the substrate. The substrate is heated in a heating phase and is cooled in a cooling phase that follows the heating phase. During at least a portion of the cooling phase, the substrate is supported at a distance of from 50 ?m to 1 mm via ultrasonic levitation from a heating/cooling plate. For example by means of an ultrasonic electrode.