Patent attributes
A substrate thermal processing system. The system has at least one substrate holding module having a housing configured for holding an isolated environment therein. A substrate heater is located in the housing and has a substrate heating surface. A substrate cooler is located in the housing and having a substrate cooling surface. A gas feed opening into the housing and feeding inert or reducing gas into the housing when the substrate is heated by the heating surface. A gas restrictor is within the housing restricting the fed gas between the substrate heating surface and a surrounding atmospheric region substantially surrounding the substrate heating surface in the housing and forming an aperture through which the fed gas communicates with the atmospheric region.