Patent ID: 7235137

Claim:
A single-substrate processing apparatus for a semiconductor process, comprising: a process chamber configured to accommodate a target substrate; an exhaust system configured to vacuum-exhaust the process chamber; a gas supply system configured to supply a process gas into the process chamber; a worktable disposed in the process chamber and having a thermally conductive mount surface configured to place the target substrate thereon, the worktable including a lower block and an upper block; a flow passage formed in the upper block of the worktable, in which a thermal medium flows for adjusting temperature of the target substrate through the mount surface; an auxiliary flow passage formed in the lower block of the worktable a first thermal medium supply system including a first cooler and a heater connected in parallel to a supply line connected to the flow passage and configured to selectively supply a first cooling medium and a heating medium into the flow passage; a second thermal medium supply system including a second cooler connected to the auxiliary flow passage and configured to supply a second cooling medium into the auxiliary flow passage when the first cooling medium is supplied into the flow passage; and a thermally conductive gas supply system configured to supply a thermally conductive gas between the upper block and the lower block, wherein the thermally conductive gas is supplied from the thermally conductive gas supply system to increase thermal conductivity between the upper block and the lower block when the first and second cooling mediums are supplied into the flow passage and the auxiliary flow passage, respectively, while supply of the thermally conductive gas from the thermally conductive gas supply system is configured to stop when the heating medium is supplied into the flow passage.