Patent ID: 7282675

Claim:
An integrated thermal unit for processing substrates, the integrated thermal unit comprising: a bake plate configured to heat a substrate supported on a surface of the bake plate; a chill plate configured to cool a substrate supported on a surface of the chill plate; a substrate transfer station at which substrates can be transferred into the thermal unit and placed onto a substrate transfer shuttle configured to transfer substrates between the substrate transfer station, the bake plate and the chill plate, the substrate transfer shuttle having a temperature controlled substrate holding surface that is capable of cooling a substrate heated by the bake plate; a housing within which the bake plate, chill plate, and substrate transfer station are enclosed, wherein the bake plate, chill plate and substrate transfer station are arranged linearly along a length of the housing with the chill plate positioned between the bake plate and the substrate transfer station; and a particle shield positioned over the chill plate, wherein the substrate transfer shuttle travels between the substrate transfer station, the chill plate and the bake plate within the housing along a linear path above the particle shield.