High temperature heating apparatus

A novel electrically power heater for heating samples to very high temperatures is disclosed. The heater includes a heater base having a plurality of concentric circular rings. Each ring includes a plurality of heat lamps coupled to the heater body. The height of each concentric ring is variable and be set during design to any desirable height. In one embodiment, the height of each of the concentric rings is adjusted so as to form a contiguous upwardly sloping arc from the outermost ring to the innermost ring. In another embodiment, the height of the concentric rings is adjusted so as to form a combination of upwardly and downwardly sloping arcs. In both embodiments, the lower surface of the heater body is shaped to form a reflector. The reflector for each ring consists of two portions, each substantially elliptically shaped so as to greatly reduce back reflections through the filament of the heat lamp. Utilizing circularly shaped rings of heat lamps functions to focus and more evenly illuminate the sample, typically a silicon wafer. The light intensity of each ring can be controlled individually permitting the fine tuning of the energy distribution over the surface of the wafer.