Patent ID: 8367587

Claim:
A method for combinatorial processing, the method comprising: receiving a substrate used for the manufacture of data storage devices, wherein the substrate comprises a plurality of site-isolated regions; applying a wet process to the plurality of site-isolated regions, wherein the wet process applied to the site-isolated regions is varied between the site-isolated regions, wherein each site isolated region of the plurality of site isolated regions is isolated from an external environment during the wet process by a processing cell having a sealed upper surface, and wherein a bottom surface of the processing cell seals against a surface of the substrate; depositing a first film by a vacuum based deposition process on a first site-isolated region, wherein the vacuum based deposition process is performed using a barrier comprising a gas flow to process regions in a site-isolated fashion; depositing a second film by the vacuum based deposition process on a second site-isolated region, wherein the first film and the second film are varied from one another.