Patent ID: 8409399

Claim:
A reduced maintenance processing system for treating a substrate comprising: a chemical treatment system for chemically altering one or more exposed surface layers on the substrate, wherein a protective barrier is formed on an interior surface of the chemical treatment system, the protective barrier provided with a minimum thickness ranging from about 100 microns to about 200 microns, and comprising an anodized metal impregnated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and/or tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), the chemical treatment system comprising: a temperature controlled chemical treatment chamber, a wall temperature control unit coupled to a wall heating element coupled to the temperature controlled chemical treatment chamber and configured to control a temperature of the temperature controlled chemical treatment chamber, a temperature controlled substrate holder mounted within the temperature controlled chemical treatment chamber, wherein the temperature controlled substrate holder is configured to support the substrate having the one or more exposed surface layers, a temperature control component coupled to the temperature controlled substrate holder and configured to control a temperature of the temperature controlled substrate holder, a vacuum pumping system coupled to the temperature controlled chemical treatment chamber, a gas distribution system coupled to the temperature controlled chemical treatment chamber and configured to introduce one or more process gases to the temperature controlled chemical treatment chamber in order to chemically alter the exposed surface layers on the substrate, and a gas distribution system temperature control unit coupled to a gas distribution heating element coupled to the temperature controlled portion and configured to control a temperature of the gas distribution system; a thermal treatment system for thermally treating the chemically altered surface layers on the substrate to remove the chemically altered surface layers, the thermal treatment system comprising a temperature controlled thermal treatment chamber; and a thermal insulation assembly coupled to and disposed between the thermal treatment system and the chemical treatment system.