Rapid cycle chuck for low-pressure processing

Active heating and cooling of substrates in low-pressure processing environments involve transferring heat to and from the substrates through thermally conductive chucks. Operations performed on the substrates include physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), ion beam sputtering, annealing, and cleaning. Rapid thermal cycling of substrates in low-pressure processing environments is achieved by movable temperature conditioners located outside the processing environments. The substrates are mounted on thermally conductive pedestals for processing in the low-pressure environment. The temperature conditioners are movable both into and out of thermal contact with the pedestals outside the low-pressure environment to regulate transfers of heat through the pedestals between the substrates and the temperature conditioners. A translatable cooler block with a high thermal mass and a large interface area with the pedestal can be used as a temperature conditioner for more rapidly withdrawing heat from the substrate.