High pressure steam anneal processing apparatus

A batch processing chamber, comprising:

• a chamber body enclosing an internal volume;
• a slit valve door configured to sealably close a loading port formed through the chamber body, the slit valve door comprising seals which engage an inner surface of the chamber body;
• a cassette moveably disposed within the internal volume, the cassette movable between a first position and a second position beneath the first position;
• a hollow cylindrical shell disposed within the internal volume and surrounding the cassette when the cassette is in the second position;
• a heater disposed in a sidewall of the chamber body and operable to maintain the chamber body at a temperature of greater than 290° C.;
• and
• an additional heater disposed between an inner surface of the hollow cylindrical shell and the cassette when the cassette is in the second position.

A batch processing chamber, comprising:

• a chamber body enclosing an internal volume, the chamber body having an opening formed through a bottom wall thereof;
• a slit valve door configured to sealably close a loading port formed through the chamber body, the slit valve door comprising seals which engage an inner surface of the chamber body;
• a cassette moveably disposed within the internal volume, the cassette configured to be raised to a first position to load a plurality of substrates therein, and lowered into a second position beneath the first position for processing;
• a plug coupled to a bottom wall of the cassette, the plug comprising a downward-facing seal configured to engage with a top surface of the bottom wall of the chamber body when the cassette is in the second position, the seal circumscribing the opening, and sealable against the bottom wall of the chamber body when the cassette is in the second position;
• a heater disposed in a sidewall of the chamber body and operable to maintain the chamber body at a temperature of greater than 290° C.;
• and
• an additional heater disposed within the internal volume.