Abstract: Embodiments described herein provide substrate support assemblies for retaining a surface of a substrate having one or more devices disposed on one or more surfaces of the substrate without contacting the one or more devices and preventing changes in profile of the substrate. The substrate support assembly allows for control of the substrate. The substrate support assembly includes a gas nozzle disposed through a body of the substrate support assembly. The gas nozzle provides a gas to the substrate. The gas is operable to provide pressure to the substrate to reduce contact on the substrate and to control the profile of the substrate.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides apparatus and methods for monitoring and controlling filaments used in hotwire semiconductor processing and for monitoring integrity of filaments in a hotwire processing chamber. Embodiments of this disclosure may use real time voltage and current feedback signals provided by the power supply, known attributes, for example resistivity, of filament, filament geometries, for example diameter and length, and filament assembly configurations as input, to derive filament temperature in real time. Embodiments of the present disclosure are capable of continuously derive accurate temperatures of the filament assembly in a hotwire processing chamber after the filament assembly has changed geometries due to normal usage by using the measured cold resistance of the wire periodically before the process starts.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides apparatus and methods for monitoring and controlling filaments used in hotwire semiconductor processing and for monitoring integrity of filaments in a hotwire processing chamber. Embodiments of this disclosure may use real time voltage and current feedback signals provided by the power supply, known attributes, for example resistivity, of filament, filament geometries, for example diameter and length, and filament assembly configurations as input, to derive filament temperature in real time. Embodiments of the present disclosure are capable of continuously derive accurate temperatures of the filament assembly in a hotwire processing chamber after the filament assembly has changed geometries due to normal usage by using the measured cold resistance of the wire periodically before the process starts.

Abstract: A semiconductor processing system and method. The system includes an assembly of radiant energy sources and a programmable switch array configured to selectively deliver power to each radiant energy source based on a plurality of control signals. The method includes measuring the temperature at a plurality of regions on a substrate and controlling a plurality of radiant energy sources to correct any non-radial temperature discontinuities.