Apparatus for measuring temperature in a vacuum and microwave environment

An apparatus for determining a temperature of a substrate, comprising:

• a substrate holder with a plurality of support pins configured to be placed in a microwave environment or a vacuum environment;
• a temperature sensor assembly with at least a portion of its surface having a phosphorous coating and configured to be inserted in at least one pin support position in an inner area of the substrate holder and in at least one pin support position in an outer area of the substrate holder, wherein the temperature sensor assembly includes a temperature sensor pin with a spring that is microwave transparent and provides an upward motion of the temperature sensor pin and is configured to enhance thermal contact with a warped substrate when present by providing an upward force against the substrate, and wherein the temperature sensor pin is made of a material with a thermal conductivity greater than approximately 200 W/mK and a low thermal mass which is microwave transparent;
• and
• an optical transmission assembly embedded into at least a portion of the substrate holder or a static platform and configured to receive light emissions from the at least a portion of the surface of the temperature sensor assembly and to relay the light emissions to a temperature detection assembly.

An apparatus for heating a substrate with microwaves, comprising:

• a process chamber with a microwave power source and a microwave cavity, the process chamber capable of providing a vacuum environment for heating the substrate;
• a plurality of substrate holders with a plurality of support pins configured to be placed in the microwave cavity, the plurality of substrate holders configured to support a plurality of substrates;
• at least one temperature sensor assembly with at least a portion of its surface having a phosphorous coating and configured to be inserted in at least one pin support position in at least one of the plurality of substrate holders, wherein the at least one temperature sensor assembly includes a temperature sensor pin with a spring that provides upward motion of the temperature sensor pin and is configured to enhance thermal contact with a warped substrate when present by providing an upward force against the substrate;
• at least one optical transmission assembly embedded into at least a portion of the at least one of the plurality of substrate holders or a static platform and configured to receive light emissions from the at least a portion of the surface of the temperature sensor assembly and to relay the light emissions to a temperature detection assembly;
• and
• a controller configured to receive temperature information from the temperature detection assembly and to provide adjustments to the microwave power source based upon the temperature information and process information.