Patent ID: 6907924

Claim:
A thermally conductive chuck for supporting a substrate in a processing chamber comprising: a temperature-regulated chuck body having a mounting surface for supporting the substrate within an evacuated space of the processing chamber; said mounting surface forming a portion of a heat-transfer interface with the substrate, the heat-transfer interface extending to a periphery of the substrate for conveying heat between said temperature-regulated chuck body and the substrate; a mechanical clamp for securing the substrate to the mounting surface and having means for sealing said temperature-regulated chuck body to the substrate beyond the heat-transfer interface for confining a heat-transfer fluid within a separately pressurizable region of the evacuated space; a first portion of the separately pressurizable region being defined between said mounting surface of the chuck body and the substrate; a second portion of the separately pressurizable region being defined between said mechanical clamp and said chuck body as a chamber surrounding the first portion of the separately pressurizable region of the evacuated space; the first and second portions of the separately pressurizable region being separated by the periphery of the substrate; a passageway formed in the chuck body between the chuck body and the substrate that permits a substantially uninhibited flow of the heat-transfer fluid across the periphery of the substrate between the first and second portions of the separately pressurizable region; inlet and outlet conduits, one of said inlet and outlet conduits being connected to the first portion of the separately pressurizable region and the other of said inlet and outlet conduits being connected to the second portion of the separately pressurizable region for supporting the flow of the heat-transfer fluid along the passageway between the first and second portions of the separately pressurizable region; the second portion of the separately pressurizable region being bounded by said mechanical clamp, said chuck body, and the substrate; the inlet conduit being connected to the second portion of the separately pressurizable region and the outlet conduit being connected to the first portion of the separately pressurizable region for supporting flow of the heat-transfer fluid across the periphery of the substrate from the second portion of the separately pressurizable region to the first portion of the separately pressurizable region; and a flow control system connected to said inlet and outlet conduits and being arranged for regulating flows of the fluid through the separately pressurizable region in a direction from the second portion to the first portion of the separately pressurizable region.