Heater assembly for heating a wafer

A heater assembly of an apparatus for heating an object, comprising:

• a first support dedicated to support the object;
• a heater disposed below said first support, said heater comprising a unitary body of electrically resistive material, and a plurality of heat blocks integrated into an upper surface of said unitary body, said heat blocks each comprising an electrical insulator and being spaced from one another in the radial direction of the upper surface of said body so as to divide the body into a plurality of heating sections defined between the heat blocks at the upper surface of the body, the respective widths of said heating sections, as measured in the radial direction of the body, increasing towards the center of said body, and the electrical resistance of an outer peripheral portion of said heater being higher than that of a central portion of said heater;
• and
• an electrical power source connected to said heater and through which electric current can be supplied to said heater.