Disclosed are apparatuses and methods for providing a substrate onto a substrate support in a processing chamber, generating an inert plasma in the processing chamber, and maintaining the inert plasma to heat the substrate to a steady state temperature, suitable for conducting plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), in less than 30 seconds from providing the substrate onto the substrate support. An apparatus may include a processing chamber, a process station that includes a substrate support, a process gas unit configured to flow an inert gas onto a substrate supported by the substrate support, a plasma source configured to generate an inert plasma in the process station, and a controller with instructions configured to flow the inert gas onto the substrate, generate the inert plasma in the first process station, and maintain the inert plasma to thereby heat the substrate.