US Patent 7560007 In-situ wafer temperature measurement and control

Broadly speaking, the embodiments of the present invention fill the need by providing in-situ wafer temperature measuring method and apparatus. The in-situ substrate temperature measuring method and apparatus provide instant wafer temperature information to allow for continuous monitoring of the etching process. The method and apparatus also allow for instant substrate temperature control to tighten wafer-to-wafer and chamber-to-chamber process distribution. An exemplary cluster tool system is provided. The cluster tool system includes a substrate holding station for holding a substrate capable of emitting signals indicative of substrate temperature, and a processing chamber, the processing chamber being configured to receive the substrate from the substrate holding station and to run through an active process operation when the substrate is in the processing chamber. The cluster tool system also includes a signal detector for detecting the signals emitted by the substrate when the processing chamber runs through the active process operation, the signal detector being configured to collect the emitted signals indicative of the substrate temperature.