Patent attributes
A single substrate reactor system for processing batches of product substrates one at a time is provided with at least one dummy substrate. In the time after one batch of product substrates is processed and before another batch of product substrates is ready for processing, the dummy substrate is used as a substitute for the thermal load presented by a product substrate. The dummy substrate is loaded into and unloaded from the reactor in the same manner as a batch of product substrates. Advantageously, the thermal load presented by the dummy substrate maintains the thermal equilibrium established during the processing of a batch of product substrates, thereby eliminating the need for and time required to re-establish this equilibrium at the beginning of processing the next batch of substrates.
