Furnace system having hybrid microwave and radiant heating

A furnace system for thermal processing of products and materials is disclosed which is particularly useful in processing touch screens for computer tablets and silicon wafers employed in fabricating solar cells. The system employs a hybrid of microwave and radiant heating of workpieces to provide controlled heating of the workpieces. A plurality of susceptors are disposed a furnace chamber. A plurality of microwave sources are arranged to provide microwave radiation in the chamber to uniformly heat workpieces in the chamber and to provide uniform heating of the susceptors. The susceptors are effective upon microwave heating by the microwave sources to provide uniform radiant heating of the workpieces in the chamber.