Apparatus for holding substrate

Provided are apparatus for holding a substrate and a thermal shield is disclosed that may be disposed between a heated electrostatic chuck and a base. The thermal shield comprises a thermal insulator, such as a polyimide film, having a thickness of between 1 and 5 mils. The polyimide film is coated on one side with a layer of reflective material, such as aluminum. The layer of reflective material may be between 30 and 100 nanometers. The thermal shield is disposed such that the layer of reflective material is closer to the chuck. Because of the thinness of the layer of reflective material, the thermal shield does not retain a significant amount of heat. Further, the temperature of the thermal shield remains far below the glass transition temperature of the polyimide film.