Cluster tools are widely used in advanced microelectronic manufacturing because they offer high productivity and the ability to improve thin film and interface quality through vacuum-integrated processing. While such tools are often dedicated to a single technology such as plasma etching, PVD, or CVD, it is common to integrate a number of different process technologies within the same tool. For example, the integrated process sequence of wafer degas+ preclean + PVD Ti + PVD TiN + PVD AlCu + PVD TiN can be carried out in a PVD cluster tool without a vacuum break to deposit an AlCu interconnect line. Understanding and managing the interplay between successive steps is critical to successful process integration-which in turn has an important effect on tool performance, productivity and cost of ownership. Looking forward, there is growing interest in clustering fundamentally different deposition methods such as PVD and CVD onto a common wafer handling platform to take advantage of their complementary benefits. This talk will discuss the motivation and challenge of integrating these and other processes on advanced cluster tools with a focus on film deposition. Generic issues of mixing and matching different processes on a cluster platform will be discussed with regard to vacuum requirements, ambient purity, thermal cross-contamination, and the choice of single wafer versus batch processing. Specific examples from both PVD and CVD cluster tools will be used to illustrate the general points made.