Method and apparatus for controlled thermal processing

An apparatus for processing a semiconductor comprising:

• a thermal processing chamber including a heating source;
• a first noncontacting thermal measurement device positioned to measure temperature on a first area of said semiconductor by a one-color optical pyrometry;
• and,
• a second noncontacting thermal measurement device, different from said first device, positioned to measure temperature on a second area of said semiconductor by two-color optical pyrometry.

A method for processing a semiconductor comprising the following steps:

• a) placing a semiconductor in a thermal processing chamber;
• b) positioning a first noncontacting thermal measurement device to measure temperature on a first area of said semiconductor by a one-color measurement in the IR range around 8 to 14 μm;
• c) positioning a second noncontacting thermal measurement device to measure temperature on a second area of said semiconductor, by a one-color measurement in the IR range around 0.9 μm, so that said first noncontacting thermal measurement device is relatively more sensitive to changes in surface emissivity than said second noncontacting thermal measurement device;
• d) heating said semiconductor while simultaneously measuring the output of said first and second thermal measurement devices and using the difference in outputs between said first and second thermal measurement devices to control at least one processing variable.

A method for processing a semiconductor comprising the following steps:

• a) placing a semiconductor in a thermal processing chamber;
• b) positioning a first noncontacting thermal measurement device to measure temperature on a first area of said semiconductor by one-color optical pyrometry;
• c) positioning a second noncontacting thermal measurement device to measure temperature on a second area of said semiconductor, by two-color optical pyrometry, so that said first noncontacting thermal measurement device is relatively more sensitive to changes in surface emissivity than said second noncontacting thermal measurement device;
• d) heating said semiconductor while simultaneously measuring the output of said first and second thermal measurement devices and using the difference in outputs between said first and second thermal measurement devices to control at least one processing variable.

A method for processing materials comprising the following steps:

• a) placing a workpiece of a selected material in a thermal processing chamber;
• b) positioning a first noncontacting thermal measurement device to measure temperature on a first area of said workpiece by a one-color measurement in the IR range around 8 to 14 μm;
• c) positioning a second noncontacting thermal measurement device to measure temperature on a second area of said workpiece, by a one-color measurement in the IR range around 0.9 μm, so that said first noncontacting thermal measurement device is relatively more sensitive to changes in surface emissivity than said second noncontacting thermal measurement device;
• d) heating said workpiece while simultaneously measuring the output of said first and second thermal measurement devices and using the difference in outputs between said first and second thermal measurement devices to control at least one processing variable.

A method for processing materials comprising the following steps:

• a) placing a workpiece of a selected material in a thermal processing chamber;
• b) positioning a first noncontacting thermal measurement device to measure temperature on a first area of said workpiece by one-color pyrometry;
• c) positioning a second noncontacting thermal measurement device to measure temperature on a second area of said workpiece, by two-color pyrometry, so that said first noncontacting thermal measurement device is relatively more sensitive to changes in surface emissivity than said second noncontacting thermal measurement device;
• d) heating said workpiece while simultaneously measuring the output of said first and second thermal measurement devices and using the difference in outputs between said first and second thermal measurement devices to control at least one processing variable.