The MRS proceedings series on rapid thermal processing (RTP) has become the predominant international forum for research in this exciting and fast-growing field. In particular, this book in the series clearly indicates that the science of RTP is increasingly better understood and that equipment simulation and engineering have matured. With the so-called 'second generation' equipment vendors are providing useful and production-worthy solutions to the most pertinent problems within RTP - temperature measurement and reproducability. For that reason, the issues of temperature calibration and metrology, along with the International Temperature Scale, are featured. The evaluation and modelling of furnace, mini-bath and single-wafer RTP furnaces as the thermal method of choice are also addressed. Interesting developments are reported in the processing of dielectrics. Applications outside the field of silicon semiconductors are also presented. Topics include: measurement; RTCVD; modelling and manufacturing; integrated processing; silicides; annealing and defects; dielectrics; and RTP of III-V materials and other novel applications.
