Apparatus and method for processing a substrate, and susceptor for supporting a substrate

An apparatus and a method for processing a substrate, and a susceptor for supporting a substrate are provided. A susceptor for semiconductor substrate processing is disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the susceptor may comprise an inner susceptor portion and an outer susceptor portion. The susceptor portions may self-align via complementary features, such as tabs on the outer susceptor and recesses on the inner susceptor portion. The inner susceptor portion may contain several contact pads with which to support a wafer during semiconductor processing. In some embodiments, the contact pads are hemispherical to reduce contact area with the wafer, thereby reducing risk of backside damage. The inner susceptor portion may contain a cavity with which to receive a thermocouple. In some embodiments, the diameter of the cavity is greater than the diameter of the thermocouple such that the thermocouple does not contact the walls of the cavity during processing, thereby providing highly accurate temperature measureme