Abstract: The surface of a susceptor for supporting a substrate during semiconductor processing is sandblasted and/or treated with a chemical etch in a low temperature cleaning treatment. The cleaning treatment can be performed after grinding the susceptor to the desired dimensions and smoothness during the manufacture of the susceptor. The sandblasting or chemical etch removes contaminants remaining after the grinding. As a result, these contaminants are no longer able to contaminate substrates that are later processed on the susceptor. In addition, a silicon carbide finish film can be deposited on the susceptor to form a surface with a desired roughness and to act as a diffusion barrier to prevent impurities in the susceptor from diffusing out and contaminating substrates supported on the susceptors.

Abstract: Susceptors plates are formed having a minimum surface roughness. The wafer contact surfaces of the susceptor plates have a surface roughness Ra value of about 0.6 ?m or more. The contact surface is otherwise flat and lacking in large protrusions. In addition, the susceptors have a low transparency to more closely match the heat absorption properties of the supported wafer. Advantageously, heat transfer from the susceptors to the wafers is highly uniform. Thus, using these susceptors to support the wafers during high temperature semiconductor processing (e.g., at>1000° C.) results in no or few crystallographic slip lines being formed on the wafers.