Plasma etching behavior of nanocomposite ceramics in semiconductor manufacturing etching chamber
MA H. 1, KIM H. 1, KO J. 1, LEE J. 1, KIM M. 1, PARK Y. 1
1 Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), Changwon, Korea (Republic of)
In the semiconductor fabrication industry, high power plasma is indispensable to obtain the high-aspect-ratio of chips. For applications to ceramic components including dielectric window and ring in semiconductor etching chamber, the limited ceramics materials have attracted interest in recent based on excellent erosion resistance. When high bias voltage is applied in a plasma environment containing fluorine gas, both chemical etching and ion bombardment act simultaneously on the ceramic components. We report the outstanding plasma etching resistance of new nanocomposite ceramics under F-contained plasma environment; the erosion depth of this material is 40% of that of conventional ceramics components. It is possible to understand the relationship between etching behavior and microstructure evolution of the nanocomposite ceramic. The results indicate that the nanocomposite with fine and homogeneous domains distribution can decrease the particle generation and ameliorate its life cycle, accordingly, this is promising alternative candidate material for ceramic components in plasma chambers.