Hot wall rapid thermal processor

A heat treatment apparatus, comprising:

• a heating chamber having a heat source;
• a cooling chamber positioned adjacent to the heating chamber and including a cooling source;
• a wafer holder configured to move between the cooling chamber and the heating chamber through a passageway positioned between the heating source and the cooling source;
• one or more shutters defining the size of the passageway and being changeable between an open position where the wafer holder can pass through the passageway and an obstructing position while the wafer holder is positioned within the heating and cooling chamber, the obstructing position defines a passageway which is smaller than the passageway defined when the shutter is in the open position;
• one or more fluid inlet ports positioned to deliver a fluid into the heating chamber;
• one or more fluid exhaust ports positioned to withdraw the fluid from the heating chamber;
• a flow distribution chamber positioned such that the fluid from the fluid inlet ports is distributed to the heating chamber and the fluid from the heating chamber is distributed to the exhaust ports through the flow distribution chamber;
• and
• one or more flow containment members extending into the heating chamber from a side of the heating chamber, the member having an edge with a shape which is complementary to a perimeter of a portion of a wafer supported in the wafer holder.