| abstract |
The present invention provides a heating member that can be molded inside cavities, between individual members or encapsulating components to provide efficient and uniform heat transfer. The invention may be used to advantage around pipes or vessels for heating the contents, within members for providing heat to adjacent members or workpieces, and in any other application where heat can be more efficiently or uniformly provided by intimate contact with a member to be heated, whether or not the member to be heated is the ultimate member or workpiece requiring heat. In one aspect of the invention, a heating member is disposed within an electrostatic chuck to provide direct conductive heating of the electrostatic chuck and, ultimately, a silicon wafer up to temperatures as high as about 600 degrees Celsius. The preferred electrostatic chuck incorporates a composite heating element intimately molded within the electrostatic chuck, wherein the composite is resistively heated over a large surface area of the electrostatic chuck. |