Ultra-thin conformal coating for electrostatic dissipation in semiconductor process tools

Abstract

To provide an end effector of a robot arm, a method including depositing coatings on a surface of the end effector, and a substrate processing system.SOLUTION: Disclosed in some embodiments is a chamber component (such as an end effector body) coated with an ultrathin electrically-dissipative material to provide a dissipative path from the coating to the ground. The coating may be deposited via a chemical precursor deposition to provide a uniform, conformal, and porosity free coating in a cost effective manner. In an embodiment wherein the chamber component comprises an end effector body, the end effector body may further comprise replaceable contact pads for supporting a substrate and a contact surface of the contact pad head may also be coated with an electrically-dissipative material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to coated semiconductor process tools (such as devices for transferring objects within a processing system), electrostatic dissipative coatings, and methods for depositing such coatings. In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to an end effector of a robotic arm coated with an electrostatic dissipative material.

Background Art

[0002] In the manufacture of electronic devices, substrates (e.g., silicon-containing wafers, silicon-containing plates) can be moved by robots within a manufacturing facility and within manufacturing equipment tools. The robot may include a robotic arm coupled with one or more end effectors that can contact and support the substrate during such conveyance. The end effector includes contact pads that provide a raised contact surface thereon, and the substrate is supported on the contact surface.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] In certain embodiments, this disclosure may be directed to a coated chamber component that includes a chamber component and a coating deposited on a surface of the chamber component. In certain embodiments, the coating may include an electrostatic dissipative material. The electrostatic dissipative material may provide a dissipation path from the coating to ground. The coating may be uniform, conformal, and non-porous. The coating may have a thickness in the range of about 10 nm to about 900 nm and an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq.

[0004] In certain embodiments, this disclosure may be directed to methods that include depositing a coating on a surface of a chamber component using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, a plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process, a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), or a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process. The coating may include an electrically dissipative material. The electrically dissipative material may provide a dissipation path from the coating to ground. The coating may be uniform, conformal, and non-porous and may have a thickness in the range of about 10 nm to about 900 nm and an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq.

[0005] In certain embodiments, this disclosure may be directed to an electrically dissipative coating that includes an electrically dissipative material. The coating may be uniform, conformal, and non-porous and may have a thickness in the range of about 10 nm to about 900 nm and an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq.

[0006] In certain embodiments, this disclosure may be directed to an end effector for a robotic arm. The end effector may include an end effector body and a coating deposited on a surface of the end effector body. The coating may include an electrically dissipative material. The electrically dissipative material may provide a dissipation path from the coating to ground. The coating may be uniform, conformal, and non-porous. The coating may have a thickness in the range of about 10 nm to about 900 nm. The coating may have an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq.

[0007] In certain embodiments, this disclosure may be directed to a method. The method may include depositing a coating on a surface of an end effector for a robotic arm using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process, a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), or a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process. The coating may include an electrically dissipative material. The electrically dissipative material may provide a dissipation path from the coating to ground. The coating may be uniform, conformal, and non-porous. The coating may have a thickness in the range of about 10 nm to about 900 nm. The coating may have an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1x10 11 Ω / sq.

[0008] In certain embodiments, this disclosure may be directed to a substrate processing system. The substrate processing system may include a chamber, a robot disposed within the chamber, and a robotic arm connected to the robot. The robotic arm may include an end effector body, a replaceable contact pad, and a coating. The replaceable contact pad may be disposed on the end effector body. The replaceable contact pad may include a contact pad head having a contact surface configured to contact a substrate, and a shaft coupled to the contact pad head and received within an aperture formed in the body of the end effector and extending into a recess. The coating may be deposited on the surface of the end effector body and the contact surface of the contact pad head. The coating may include an electrically dissipative material. The electrically dissipative material may provide a dissipation path from the coating to ground. The coating may be uniform and conformal.

[0009] This disclosure is illustrated, by way of example and not limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent similar elements. In this disclosure, the different recitations of "an," "one," or "a" embodiment are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and it should be noted that such recitations mean at least one embodiment.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

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[0011] In the manufacturing process of electronic devices, a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer, a silicon-containing plate, etc.) configured to create electronic components (e.g., electronic chips or their electronic sub-components) is moved through a plurality of manufacturing steps, often by using one or more robots. The robot includes an end effector that supports the substrate during such operations. By moving the substrate very quickly, it is possible to improve throughput and reduce the manufacturing cost of the produced electronic components.

[0012] However, the fast operation of the robot when transporting the substrate can also generate charged particles that can accumulate on the surface, which can lead to substrate defects. Such substrate defects can be minimized by coating a surface prone to charging (such as the end effector of the robot arm) with an antistatic coating. The antistatic coating can help release charges from the surface, allowing the particles to be released from the van der Waals forces and redispersed. The antistatic coating can support electrostatic discharge and avoid arcs and other sudden conductive events between the charged chamber component surface (e.g., the charged end effector body) and / or the wafer thereon and other system components.

[0013] This disclosure encompasses various embodiments related to an electrically dissipative coating, a method of depositing such an electrically dissipative coating, a chamber component coated with the electrically dissipative coating, an end effector body coated with the electrically dissipative coating, and a substrate processing system utilizing components (such as chamber components and / or substrate transfer components (such as end effectors)) coated with such an electrically dissipative coating. In some embodiments, the electrically dissipative coating is also a plasma-resistant coating.

[0014] The coating process described herein is advantageous and potentially cost-effective because it is more readily available, less prone to manufacturing and yield issues, and can utilize bare chamber components (such as end effector bodies) with short lead times. Further, multiple chamber components (such as end effector bodies) may be coated simultaneously (such as by inserting multiple end effector bodies into an ALD, CVD, PEALD, MOCVD, or MBE deposition chamber). The resulting coating can also be more uniform, more conformal, less porous, stronger, maintain its integrity longer (even under extreme conditions such as vacuum, thermal shock, thermal cycling, etc.), and have a narrower distribution of electrical surface / sheet resistance compared to chamber components manufactured by other processes (such as bulk ceramic doping processes and slurry-based coating processes).

[0015] In an exemplary embodiment, this disclosure may be directed to components for transporting a substrate coated with a coating having certain properties. In one embodiment, the component for transporting the substrate may be an end effector for a robotic arm. The coating may have electrical dissipation properties and may include an electrically dissipative material to provide a dissipation path from the coating to ground. The coating may be uniform, conformal, and non-porous. The coating may have a thickness in the range of about 10 nm to about 900 nm (e.g., about 20 nm to about 500 nm). The coating may have an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq.

[0016] The body of the component for transporting the substrate may include an insulator or a conductor such as, but not limited to, ceramic, a conductive material (such as metal), polymer, quartz, etc. In one embodiment, the body of the component for transporting the substrate may include a material suitable for high-temperature processes such as quartz. Quartz may be suitable for high-temperature processes due to its transparency, which minimizes the thermal impact on the substrate being transported while allowing radiation to pass through. The coating deposited on the component can retain some of the properties of the material of the underlying component structure. For example, the coating can retain the transparency of the underlying quartz component and maintain a minimal thermal impact on the substrate. In certain embodiments, the coating deposited on the component may have certain properties independent of the properties of the material of the underlying component structure. For example, the resistance performance of the coating may be independent of the underlying component.

[0017] The coating may be a two-layer laminate or a laminate of a plurality of alternating layers. The coating may include a variety of materials and may be selected based on the target properties of the final coating among other factors (e.g., electrical dissipation properties, transparency, thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, hardness, thermal shock resistance, thermal cycle resistance, vacuum resistance, scratch adhesion, wear rate, purity, roughness, conformality, etc.). In certain embodiments, the coating may include a laminate of layers in which a layer containing a first material and a layer containing a second material alternate. The thickness ratio of the thickness of each layer containing the first material to the thickness of each layer containing the second material may be in the range of about 50:1 to about 1:50. In one embodiment, the two-layer laminate or laminate of alternating layers may include one or more of alumina and titania. The thickness ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer may be in the range of about 10:1 to about 1:10.

[0018] In certain embodiments, the component for transporting the coated substrate may be an end effector. The end effector body may include replaceable contact pads thereon to reduce and / or eliminate slippage of the substrate from the surface of the end effector during transport. In one embodiment, the replaceable contact pads may be coated with any of the coatings described herein using any of the coating methods described herein, together with the end effector. Alternatively, or additionally, the replaceable contact pads may be composed of an electrically dissipative material.

[0019] The coatings described herein may be deposited by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, by a plasma atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process, by a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process, by a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process, and by other similar chemical precursor deposition processes. Coatings containing two or more layers and / or two or more metals may be deposited through continuous deposition, through co-deposition, or through co-delivery of precursors.

[0020] ALD (and optionally, CVD, PEALD, MOCVD, and / or MBE) can be a suitable deposition method in this disclosure due to its ability to uniformly and conformally coat components having complex three-dimensional features, holes, large aspect ratios, etc. Additionally, using these coating processes, multiple bare components (e.g., end effectors) (e.g., bare bulk alumina not doped with titania) that are not coated can be placed in the deposition chamber and coated simultaneously. Among other factors, inexpensive starting materials, the ability to coat multiple chamber components simultaneously, and the flexibility and ability to optimize the coating process provide a more cost-effective process and ultimately, more affordable coated components.

[0021] As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references. Thus, for example, the term "a wafer" includes a single wafer and a combination of two or more wafers, and the term "metal" includes a single metal and a combination of two or more metals, and so on.

[0022] As used herein, the term "about" in relation to a measured quantity refers to the normal variation in that measured quantity as would be expected by one of ordinary skill in the art when making a measurement and taking a level of care commensurate with the purpose of the measurement and the precision of the measuring instrument. In certain embodiments, the term "about" includes the recited number ± 10%, such that "about 10" includes from 9 to 11.

[0023] The recitation of a range of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein is merely intended to make the material and methods clearer and is not limiting. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosed materials and methods.

[0024] As used herein, the term "plasma resistant" means having resistance to one or more types of plasma, as well as resistance to chemicals and radicals associated with one or more types of plasma.

[0025] In this specification, certain embodiments are discussed with reference to an end effector coated with an electrostatic dissipation coating. However, it should be understood that the electrostatic dissipation coatings described in the embodiments herein may also be used to coat other components such as process chambers, transfer chambers, factory interface chambers, load locks, load ports, slit valves, etc. Thus, the electrostatic dissipation coatings described herein can coat any component of an electronic device processing tool or system. Some examples of such components include substrate support assemblies, electrostatic chucks, gas supply plates, lids, nozzles, liners, rings (e.g., process kit rings or single rings), bases, showerheads, gas lines, liner kits, shields, plasma screens, flow equalizers, cooling bases, chamber viewports, chamber lids, etc.

[0026] Figure 1 depicts a first exemplary embodiment of a chamber component that can be coated with the electrically dissipative coating described herein. In Figure 1, the exemplary chamber component is an end effector 100 configured to support a substrate 101 (a portion of which is shown in dashed lines). The end effector 100 can be made from an end effector body 102 having an upper surface 102T (Figure 2) and a bottom surface 102B. The upper surface 102T can include a plane that includes three spot surfaces that are raised higher than the planar surface 102PS that forms the basis of the end effector body 102. The end effector body 102 may be configured to be coupled or interconnected at an inner end 104I to a robotic component such as a robotic arm (e.g., see Figure 6, robotic wrist 653). For the coupling, a fastener (not shown) received through a bore 105 may be used to couple the end effector 100 to a robotic arm (e.g., wrist 653). The coupling may be made directly to the wrist member 653 or, when the end effector 100 is made from a ceramic or glass material, may be made through a component such as a mounting plate 654 (Figure 6) to suppress cracking of the end effector 100.

[0027] The outer end 104O of the end effector body 102 can include a first fork 107A and a second fork 107B, and each of the forks can be configured to receive and support a contact pad 108 thereon. In some embodiments, the contact pad 108 is composed of an electrically dissipative material or coated with an electrically dissipative material. The contact pad 108 on the outer end 104O and the third contact pad 108 proximate to the inner end 104I can provide a stable three-point contact for supporting the substrate 101 thereon (only a part of the substrate 101 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). The substrate 101 can be supported on the contact pads 108 of the end effector 100 between an inner shelf 109I, which can be an arcuate step having approximately the same radius as the substrate 101, and an outer shelf 109O. The spacing between the individual inner shelf 109I and the outer shelf 109O can be slightly larger than the substrate 101 (e.g., a few mm), and the dimension 111 can be a diameter slightly larger than 300 mm or 450 mm in diameter or other dimensions of the substrate 101, etc. Other configurations of the end effector body 102 other than those shown can be used. The end effector 102 and / or the contact pads 108 may be coated with an electrically dissipative coating in the embodiments.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a side view of an exemplary end effector body 102 depicting the bottom surface 102B, the top surface 102T, the inner shelf 109I, the outer shelf 109O, and a coating 200 deposited on the top surface 102T. The dimensions of the end effector body 102 and the coating 200 need not be to scale and are merely depicted in FIG. 2 for illustrative purposes. The contact pads 108 are not depicted in FIG. 2. In this specification, the coating 200 is described as being deposited on the top surface (102T) of the end effector body 102, but the coating 200 may also be deposited on the top surfaces of other chamber components even if not explicitly described herein. Exemplary chamber components that can be coated with the electrically dissipative coating 200 can include transfer chambers, factory interface chambers, load locks, load ports, slit valves, and the like.

[0029] The end effector body 102 can be manufactured from a rigid material. In some embodiments, the end effector body 102 can be made from a stable, lightweight material that reduces deformation of the end effector under various chamber processing conditions, including pressure and temperature. Suitable, non-limiting materials for the end effector body 102 include, but are not limited to, insulating materials or conductive materials such as polymers, glass, quartz, ceramics, and conductive materials (such as metallic materials).

[0030] For example, ceramics such as bulk alumina can be used. In some embodiments, a suitable ceramic can be semiconductive to facilitate the discharge of electrostatic charges that can accumulate on the substrate. Other semiconductive ceramic materials include, for example, alumina-SiC composites, SiC, silicon nitride, boron nitride, and boron. In certain embodiments, the coating 200 disclosed herein contributes to the semiconductive properties of the coated end effector body (or any coated chamber component). The semiconductive properties can avoid high conductances that can lead to arcing between the coated chamber component (e.g., end effector) and other system components. Such semiconductive properties can also be achieved by the coating 200 as described in more detail below.

[0031] Optionally, the end effector body 102 may include a conductive material such as metal. Exemplary suitable conductive materials include, but are not limited to, for example, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel, copper, chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, ruthenium, tungsten, or platinum. It is also possible to use other suitable metals or alloys (e.g., aluminum alloy Al6061). The conductive end effector body (or another conductive chamber component) may also be coated with a coating 200 to create a coated end effector body (or another coated chamber component) having electrical dissipation properties, support electrostatic discharge, and avoid arcs and sudden conductive events between the end effector (or other chamber component) and / or the wafer and / or other system components thereon.

[0032] As used herein, the term "semiconducting" means including a bulk material of a particular component exhibiting semiconducting electrical properties, as well as a semiconducting or non-semiconducting bulk material considered to be semiconducting by, for example, a coating of a semiconducting material, or other semiconducting electrical paths such as wiring, layers, ribbons, lines, or other electrical channels disposed on or within itself. Similarly, as used herein, the term "conductive" means including a conductive bulk material, or a semiconducting or non-semiconducting material considered to be conductive by a conductive coating or conductive electrical path formed on or within itself.

[0033] In some embodiments, the end effector 100 can be used at temperatures between 150°C and 650°C. In high-temperature thermal processes, significant heat transfer can exist between the end effector and the wafer in close proximity. The thermal shock associated with heat transfer from an alumina end effector to the wafer can break the wafer. In contrast, the use of a transparent end effector, such as an end effector containing quartz, does not transmit such dramatic thermal shock. The reduction of thermal shock seen in the quartz end effector is thought to be due to the fact that quartz is not as thermally conductive as ceramics (such as alumina), and quartz is transparent and allows radiation to pass through (compared to opaque ceramic materials such as alumina).

[0034] In certain embodiments, since the heat shadow created by quartz is minimal (in other words, the thermal impact of quartz on the wafer is minimal), quartz may be used as the material for the components of the end effector used to transport the substrate for high-temperature thermal processes. Similarly, quartz may be used as the material for the components of other chamber parts that benefit from such minimal thermal impact. In such embodiments, the coating may be transparent to maintain the advantageous properties of the quartz end effector or any other quartz chamber part.

[0035] In certain aspects, it may be advantageous for the coating to maintain similar properties (e.g., transparency) with respect to the properties of the material of the underlying component parts. In other aspects, it may be advantageous for the coating to be independent of the properties of the material of the underlying component parts with respect to certain properties (e.g., resistance performance).

[0036] The rapid movement of the robot may generate particles when transporting the substrate. Electrostatic charges and the affinity for particles that accumulate on charged surfaces (e.g., the charged surface of the end effector body coupled to the robot's arm) are considered to be one of the factors contributing to substrate defects. By coating the surface of the end effector body (or another chamber component exhibiting a similar phenomenon) with an electrically dissipative material such as the coating 200, it is considered possible to discharge the charge from the surface of the end effector body (or other chamber components). As a result, the particles are released from the van der Waals force and redispersed. In other words, the electrically dissipative material can provide a dissipation path from the coating to the ground. The ability to discharge the charge is considered to improve particle performance and defect performance with respect to the substrate. Additionally, the coating 200 and / or the pad 108 can provide a dissipation path between the supported wafer and the ground. If there is a charge remaining on the wafer supported by the end effector 102, that charge can be discharged through a path passing through the pad 108 and / or the coating 200.

[0037] The coated end effector body (and other coated chamber components) may be manufactured with an electrically dissipative material dopant to achieve the dissipation characteristics described above. However, the manufacture of doped components by bulk doping or slurry-based coatings can be costly due to various factors such as limited supply, manufacturing and yield issues, long lead times, etc. Furthermore, doped components can result in brittle coatings with a wide range of electrical surface / sheet resistance that is widely distributed across the coating surface. This disclosure realizes the dissipation characteristics described above by depositing coating 200 on the top surface of the end effector body (or another chamber component) by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, by a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process, by a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process, or by a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process, and some of these processes will be described in more detail with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5. These processes are advantageous and may be cost-effective since bare chamber components (such as bare end effector bodies) are more readily available, are not as confronted with manufacturing and yield issues, have short lead times, etc. Furthermore, multiple chamber components (such as multiple end effector bodies) may be coated simultaneously (e.g., by inserting multiple end effector bodies into an ALD, CVD, PEALD, MOCVD, or MBE deposition chamber). The resulting coating can also be more uniform, more conformal, less porous, stronger, maintain its integrity longer, and have a narrow distribution of electrical surface / sheet resistance across the coating surface compared to doped chamber components (such as end effectors) or chamber components (such as end effectors) coated by a slurry-based coating process.

[0038] Coating 200 may include an electrically dissipative material. In certain embodiments, coating 200 may also include a corrosion resistant material, which may be a plasma corrosion resistant and / or erosion resistant material.

[0039] In some embodiments, the coating 200 can be a multilayer coating in which at least one of the layers of the multilayer coating is an electrically dissipative layer that includes one of the aforementioned electrically dissipative materials, and at least one other layer of the multilayer coating is a plasma-resistant layer that includes a plasma-resistant material.

[0040] In some embodiments, the coating 200 is a multilayer coating, and at least one layer of the multilayer coating is aluminum oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconium oxide, Y3Al5O 12 , Y2O3-ZrO2 solid solution, Y4Al2O9 and compounds containing Y2O3-ZrO2 solid solution, HfO2, HfAlO x , HfZrO x , HfYO x , Hf-doped Y2O3, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, erbium oxide, gadolinium oxide, lanthanum oxide, praseodymium oxide, neodymium oxide, promethium oxide, samarium oxide, europium oxide, terbium oxide, dysprosium oxide, holmium oxide, thulium oxide, ytterbium oxide, or lutetium oxide.

[0041] In some embodiments, the coating 200 is a multilayer coating, and at least one layer of the multilayer coating is Y2O3 and Y2O3-based ceramics, Y3Al5O 12 (YAG), Al2O3 (alumina), Y4Al2O9 (YAM), YF3, SiC (silicon carbide), ErAlO3, GdAlO3, NdAlO3, YAlO3, Si3N4 (silicon nitride), AlN (aluminum nitride), TiO2 (titania), ZrO2 (zirconia), TiC (titanium carbide), ZrC (zirconium carbide), TiN (titanium nitride), Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ), Er2O3 and Er2O3-based ceramics, Gd2O3 and Gd2O3-based ceramics, Er3Al5O 12 (EAG), Gd3Al5O 12(GAG), Nd2O3 and Nd2O3-based ceramics, ceramic compounds containing Y4Al2O9 and Y2O3-ZrO2 solid solutions, ceramic compounds containing Y2O3, Er2O3, ZrO2, Gd2O3 and SiO2, Hf-based oxides and solid solutions, lanthanide-based oxides and solid solutions, or any combination of the foregoing may be included.

[0042] In some embodiments, the coating 200 is a multilayer coating, and at least one layer of the multilayer coating includes a solid solution formed by any of the foregoing ceramics. The coating 200 may also include a layer that is a multiphase material including one or more solid solutions of the foregoing materials and one or more additional phases.

[0043] Referring to the Y2O3-ZrO2 solid solution, the layer of the coating 200 may include Y2O3 at a concentration of 10 to 90 mol% and ZrO2 at a concentration of 10 to 90 mol%. In some examples, the Y2O3-ZrO2 solid solution may include 10 to 20 mol% of Y2O3 and 80 to 90 mol% of ZrO2, 20 to 30 mol% of Y2O3 and 70 to 80 mol% of ZrO2, 30 to 40 mol% of Y2O3 and 60 to 70 mol% of ZrO2, 40 to 50 mol% of Y2O3 and 50 to 60 mol% of ZrO2, 60 to 70 mol% of Y2O3 and 30 to 40 mol% of ZrO2, 70 to 80 mol% of Y2O3 and 20 to 30 mol% of ZrO2, 80 to 90 mol% of Y2O3 and 10 to 20 mol% of ZrO2, and so on.

[0044] Referring to the layer of coating 200 comprising Y4Al2O9 and Y2O3-ZrO2 solid solution, in one embodiment, the ceramic compound comprises 62.93 molar ratio (mol%) of Y2O3, 23.23 mol% of ZrO2 and 13.94 mol% of Al2O3. In another embodiment, the ceramic compound can comprise Y2O3 in the range of 50 to 75 mol%, ZrO2 in the range of 10 to 30 mol%, and Al2O3 in the range of 10 to 30 mol%. In another embodiment, the coating 200 can comprise Y2O3 in the range of 40 to 100 mol%, ZrO2 in the range of 0.1 to 60 mol%, and Al2O3 in the range of 0.1 to 10 mol%. In another embodiment, the layer of coating 200 can comprise Y2O3 in the range of 40 to 60 mol%, ZrO2 in the range of 35 to 50 mol%, and Al2O3 in the range of 10 to 20 mol%. In another embodiment, the layer of coating 200 can comprise Y2O3 in the range of 40 to 50 mol%, ZrO2 in the range of 20 to 40 mol%, and Al2O3 in the range of 20 to 40 mol%. In another embodiment, the layer of coating 200 can comprise Y2O3 in the range of 80 to 90 mol%, ZrO2 in the range of 0.1 to 20 mol%, and Al2O3 in the range of 10 to 20 mol%. In another embodiment, the layer of coating 200 can comprise Y2O3 in the range of 60 to 80 mol%, ZrO2 in the range of 0.1 to 10 mol%, and Al2O3 in the range of 20 to 40 mol%. In another embodiment, the layer of coating 200 can comprise Y2O3 in the range of 40 to 60 mol%, ZrO2 in the range of 0.1 to 20 mol%, and Al2O3 in the range of 30 to 40 mol%. In other embodiments, other distributions can also be used for one or more layers of the coating 200.

[0045] In one embodiment, the coating 200 is a multilayer coating, and at least one layer comprises or consists of a ceramic compound comprising a combination of Y2O3, ZrO2, Er2O3, Gd2O3, and SiO2. In one embodiment, the layer of the coating 200 can contain Y2O3 in the range of 40 - 45 mol%, ZrO2 in the range of 0 - 10 mol%, Er2O3 in the range of 35 - 40 mol%, Gd2O3 in the range of 5 - 10 mol%, and SiO2 in the range of 5 - 15 mol%. In a first example, the layer of the coating 200 contains 40 mol% Y2O3, 5 mol% ZrO2, 35 mol% Er2O3, 5 mol% Gd2O3, and 15 mol% SiO2. In a second example, the layer of the coating 200 contains 45 mol% Y2O3, 5 mol% ZrO2, 35 mol% Er2O3, 10 mol% Gd2O3, and 5 mol% SiO2. In a third example, the layer of the coating 200 contains 40 mol% Y2O3, 5 mol% ZrO2, 40 mol% Er2O3, 7 mol% Gd2O3, and 8 mol% SiO2.

[0046] Any of the foregoing coating materials may contain trace amounts of other materials such as ZrO2, Al2O3, SiO2, B2O3, Er2O3, Nd2O3, Nb2O5, CeO2, Sm2O3, Yb2O3, or other oxides.

[0047] In some embodiments, as discussed above, the coating 200 may include a laminate in which layers including a first material and layers including a second material are alternating. The layer including the first material may include a single metal or a metal alloy. Exemplary metals or metal alloys that can be used for the layer including the first material may include those metals or metal alloys whose oxides are commonly used as bulk ceramics. In some embodiments, the layer including the first material may include one or more of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, Ca-Al, or Si. The layer including the second material may be a resistance regulator and may include, without limitation, one or more of transition metals, rare earths, main group metals, semiconductors, or their alloys. In some embodiments, the layer including the second material may include one or more of Ti, Fe, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn, V, Y, Nb, In, Sn, Fe-Co, or La-Ta.

[0048] In some embodiments, the layer including the first material and the layer including the second material may independently be an oxide, a hydroxide, a nitride, a carbide, or metallic (i.e., having little or no oxygen or hydrogen or nitrogen or carbon). In one embodiment, the layer including the first material and the layer including the second material may both be in the form of an oxide, a hydroxide, a nitride, a carbide, or metallic. In another embodiment, the layer including the first material may have a form different from that of the layer including the second material. For example, the layer including the first material may include aluminum hydroxide (e.g., Al2O 2.99 H 0.01 ), and the layer including the second material may be metallic Ti, TiN, SiC, metallic Al, etc.

[0049] In some embodiments, the layer comprising the first material may have a first target thickness, and the layer comprising the second material may have a second target thickness. The ratio of the first target thickness to the second target thickness may be in the range of about 50:1 to about 1:50, about 30:1 to about 1:30, about 20:1 to about 1:20, about 10:1 to about 1:10, about 10:1 to about 1:1, about 8:1 to about 1:1, about 5:1 to about 1:1, about 10:1 to about 2:1, about 8:1 to about 2:1, about 5:1 to about 2:1, or about 5:2 to about 1:1.

[0050] In one embodiment, the coating 200 may be alumina. In one embodiment, the coating 200 may be titania. In one embodiment, the coating 200 may be a combination of alumina and titania, for example, a laminate in which alumina and titania are alternating. In one embodiment, the electrically dissipative material is a laminate of layers in which alumina and titania are alternating, and the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer in the laminate is in the range of about 10:1 to about 1:10. For example, the ratio of the thicknesses may be about 8:1 to about 1:1, about 5:1 to about 1:1, about 10:1 to about 2:1, about 8:1 to about 2:1, about 5:1 to about 2:1, or about 5:2 to about 1:1. In one embodiment, the electrically dissipative material may be a laminate of alumina and metallic titanium, or a laminate of aluminum hydroxide and metallic titanium, etc.

[0051] For example, FIG. 7A depicts an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) line scan of a coating comprising a laminate of alternating alumina and titania layers, and FIG. 7B depicts a transmission electron microscope (TEM) image at a 50 nm scale of the coating depicted in FIG. 7A. In FIG. 7A, the atomic % of oxygen is depicted by graphical representation 730, the atomic % of aluminum is depicted by graphical representation 720, and the atomic % of titanium is depicted by graphical representation 710. FIG. 7A illustrates that the electrically dissipative coating includes a laminate of well-separated alternating alumina and titania, as partially evidenced by the wavy graphical representations 710 and 720 in the range of 30 nm to 130 nm. The electrically dissipative coating depicted in FIGS. 7A and 7B includes well-separated layers, with each alumina (AlO x ) layer having a thickness of about 5 nm and each titania (TiO y ) layer having a thickness of about 2 nm. The ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer can be evidenced by the atomic percentage of aluminum compared to the atomic percentage of titanium in the EDS line scan of FIG. 7A. The overall thickness of the electrically dissipative coating is about 100 nm. The electrically dissipative coating was deposited on the bulk alumina surface, as evidenced in the EDS line scan of FIG. 7A in the range of 140 nm to 280 nm.

[0052] Coating 200 may be crystalline or amorphous and may cover the chamber component (e.g., end effector body) and any features thereon (such as contact pad 102) in a uniform and conformal manner with a substantially uniform thickness. In one embodiment, coating 200 has a conformal coverage of the underlying surface (including coated surface features) that is coated with a uniform thickness such that when the thickness of the coating at one location is compared to the thickness of the coating at a different location (or when evaluating the standard deviation obtained from multiple thicknesses evaluated at multiple locations), the variation in thickness is less than ± about 20%, less than ± about 10%, less than ± about 5%, or less than that. The TEM image in FIG. 7B of an electrical dissipation coating according to an embodiment illustrates a coating of uniform thickness across the depicted surface.

[0053] Coating 200 may also have a substantially uniform electrical surface / sheet resistance, that is, in other words, have a narrow distribution of electrical surface / sheet resistance across the entire surface of the coating. In some embodiments, coating 200 has a uniform electrical surface / sheet resistance such that when the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating at one location is compared to the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating at a different location (or when evaluating the standard deviation obtained from multiple surface / sheet resistances evaluated at multiple locations), the variation in electrical surface / sheet resistance is less than ± about 35%, less than ± about 30%, less than ± about 25%, less than ± about 20%, less than ± about 10%, less than ± about 5%, or less than that.

[0054] For example, FIGS. 9A and 9B depict images of the front and back, respectively, of an exemplary end effector coated with a coating according to an embodiment. The sheet resistance values measured at each of the specified locations are summarized in Table 1 below. TIFF0007715772000001.tif172170

[0055] For comparison, FIGS. 10A and 10B depict front and back images, respectively, of an exemplary bulk-doped ceramic end effector. The sheet resistance values measured at each of the identified locations are summarized in Table 2 below. TIFF0007715772000002.tif177170

[0056] The standard deviations in Tables 1 and 2 are indicators of the uniformity of the sheet resistance values at various locations on an end effector. The standard deviation in Table 2 indicates significant non-uniformity of the sheet resistance on the surface of the bulk-doped ceramic end effector. In comparison, coating the end effector according to the embodiments described herein shows improved uniformity of the sheet resistance on the surface of the end effector. This can be evidenced by the small standard deviation in Table 1 and the narrow distribution of the electrical surface / sheet resistance across the coated surface.

[0057] Since the deposition processes (ALD, CVD, PEALD, MOCVD, MBE) described herein are highly conformal processes, the coating 200 can have a roughness that matches the roughness of the coated underlying surface. In certain embodiments, the coating 200 can have a roughness that is ± about 20% or less, ± about 10% or less, or ± about 5% or less compared to the surface roughness of the underlying surface being coated. The coatings described herein advantageously coat the surface of the part uniformly and conformally, including all the complex features thereon, and thus can be advantageous for parts having a high aspect ratio (e.g., aspect ratios of about 3:1 to about 300:1, 20:1, 50:1, 100:1, 150:1, etc.), complex geometries, and three-dimensional structures.

[0058] For example, according to one embodiment, a 50 nm thick alumina-titania (the ratio of each alumina layer thickness to each titania layer thickness is 5 nm:2 nm, and the electrical surface / sheet resistance is about 1.6×10 7(In accordance with ASTM D-257 method)) The surface micrograph (not shown) of the sample coated with the nanolaminate indicated that the coating was conformal, thin, crack-free, and followed the surface roughness of the underlying alumina substrate.

[0059] This was further confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) images (not shown) from the top surface of the un-doped bare alumina substrate and the alumina substrate coated with the nanolaminate. The roughness of the un-doped bare alumina substrate was measured to be 51 ± 13 microinches. The roughness of the alumina substrate coated with the nanolaminate was measured to be 49 ± 6 microinches. The roughness measurement and the two SEM images indicated that the coating according to the embodiments described herein was 200 nm thick and retained the characteristics and roughness of the underlying substrate. This data indicates that the mechanical properties and characteristic shape of the underlying substrate were retained by the thin conformal coating described herein at the sub-micron scale.

[0060] Coating 200 may be very dense and have very low porosity compared to other deposition techniques (such as e-beam IAD or plasma spray). For example, Coating 200 may have a porosity of less than about 1.5%, less than about 1%, less than about 0.5%, or about 0% (i.e., non-porous). As used herein, the term "non-porous" means that there are no pores, pinholes, voids, or cracks throughout the depth of Coating 200 when measured by transmission electron microscope (TEM). In contrast, in conventional e-beam IAD or plasma spray techniques or doping or slurry-based coatings, the porosity can be 1 - 5% and in some cases even higher. The TEM image in FIG. 7B of the electrical dissipation coating according to an embodiment illustrates the high density and low porosity nature of the coating.

[0061] The end effector body 102 (or other chamber component) may be coated with a coating 200 that includes a corrosion-resistant material so as to withstand processing with corrosive plasma. Non-limiting examples of corrosive processing gases include, among others, halogen-containing gases such as C2F6, SF6, SiCl4, HBr, NF3, CF4, CHF3, CH2F3, F, Cl2, CCl4, BCl3, and SiF4, as well as other gases such as O2 or N2O.

[0062] The resistance of the coating 200 to plasma can be measured by an “etch rate” (ER) that can have units of angstroms per minute (Å / min) through the operation of the component being coated and the duration of exposure to the plasma. Plasma resistance can also be measured by an erosion rate having units of nanometers per radio frequency hour (nm / RFHr), where 1 RFHr represents 1 hour of processing under plasma processing conditions. The measurement can be performed after various processing times. For example, the measurement may be performed before processing, after 50 processing hours, after 150 processing hours, after 200 processing hours, etc. For halogen plasmas, a corrosion-resistant coating typically has an erosion rate lower than about 100 nm / RFHr. Variations in the composition of the coating 200 deposited on the end effector body (or other chamber component) can result in multiple different plasma resistance or erosion rate values. Additionally, a corrosion-resistant coating 200 for one composition exposed to various plasmas can have multiple different plasma resistance or erosion rate values. For example, the coating 200 may have a first plasma resistance or erosion rate for a first type of plasma and a second plasma resistance or erosion rate for a second type of plasma.

[0063] The electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating 200 is measured using a surface / sheet resistance measurement system (such as Prostat PRS-801 using Probe PRF-912) in accordance with the ASTM D-257 method to be about 1×10 4 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 12 Ω / sq., about 1×10 4 Ω / sq. to about 1×1011 Ω / sq., about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq., about 1×10 4 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 10 Ω / sq., about 1×10 4 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 9 Ω / sq., about 1×10 4 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 8 Ω / sq., about 1×10 4 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 7 Ω / sq., about 1×10 4 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 6 Ω / sq., about 1×10 4 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 5 Ω / sq., about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 10 Ω / sq., about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 9 Ω / sq., about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 8 Ω / sq., about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 7 Ω / sq., about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 6 Ω / sq., about 1×10 6 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq., about 1×10 6 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 10 Ω / sq., about 1×10 6 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 9 Ω / sq., about 1×10 6 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 8 Ω / sq., about 1×10 6 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 7 Ω / sq., about 1×10 7 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq., about 1×10 7 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 10 Ω / sq., about 1×10 7 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 9 Ω / sq., about 1×10 7Ω / sq. ~ about 1×10 8 Ω / sq., about 1×10 10 Ω / sq. ~ about 1×10 12 Ω / sq., about 1×10 10 Ω / sq. ~ about 1×10 11 It may be in the range of Ω / sq., or any other electrical surface / sheet resistance between these ranges may also be acceptable.

[0064] In certain embodiments, the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating 200 may remain unchanged after being subjected to thermal cycles in the range of about 150 °C to about 800 °C, about 200 °C to about 750 °C, about 300 °C to about 700 °C, about 400 °C to about 600 °C, or at a temperature of about 500 °C. In certain embodiments, after the thermal cycle, the coating 200 may have an electrical surface / sheet resistance within ± about 35%, ± about 30%, ± about 25%, ± about 20%, ± about 10%, or ± about 5% compared to the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating 200 before the thermal cycle.

[0065] In an embodiment where the coating 200 comprises a 100 nm thick alumina and titania nanolaminate coating on silicon (the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer is about 5:2, and the coating was deposited using ALD at 200 °C), the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating immediately after deposition was about 9.53×10 6 Ω / sq. After subjecting the coating to a thermal cycle, the resistance of the coating was about 3.90×10 6 Ω / sq. The thermal cycle was performed by exposing the coating to 400 °C in air 5 times for 1 hour each time. Specifically, the thermal cycle profile to which the coating was exposed was as follows: a) raise the temperature from 30 °C to about 400 °C at a rate of 10 °C / min, b) keep the coating at 400 °C for a duration of about 1 hour, c) lower the temperature to 60 °C, d) repeat the cycle from a) to c) 4 more times, e) finally lower the temperature to 30 °C.

[0066] Coating 200 may be resistant to thermal shock. The resistance to thermal shock can be evaluated by comparing the number of cracks and the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating immediately after deposition with those of the coating exposed to thermal shock. The coating can be exposed to thermal shock by exposing the coating on a hot plate at 200 °C for about 10 minutes, then immersing the heated coating in cold water and subsequently air-drying it. After thermal shock, a coating resistant to thermal shock may have an electrical surface / sheet resistance within ± about 35%, ± about 30%, ± about 25%, ± about 20%, ± about 10%, or ± about 5% of the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating before thermal shock. A coating resistant to thermal shock can be a coating that has no cracks before thermal shock and also has no cracks after being exposed to thermal shock.

[0067] For example, a 100 nm thick nanolaminate coating with AlO:TiO of 5 nm:3 nm (i.e., the ratio of each alumina layer thickness to each titania layer thickness is 5:3) was deposited on a quartz coupon without an intermediate buffer layer between the quartz coupon and the coating. The sheet resistance of this exemplary coating immediately after deposition was 5.7 (±1.2)×E6 Ω / square. After subjecting the coated coupon to a shock test at 200 °C, the sheet resistance of the coating was 7.3 (±1)×E6 Ω / square. This data indicates that the resistance performance of the exemplified coating was independent of the resistance performance of the underlying component (i.e., the substrate, which was a quartz coupon in this example). This data also shows that the coating maintained an electrical surface / sheet resistance within at least ± about 35% of the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating before thermal shock after thermal shock.

[0068] In an embodiment where the coating 200 includes a nanolaminate coating of alumina and titania with a thickness of 50 nm (the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer is about 5:2), the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating immediately after deposition is about 1.6×10 7 Ω / sq. After subjecting the coating to heat treatment at 200 °C and measuring according to the ASTM D-257 method, the resistance of the coating was about 1.90×10 8 Ω / sq.

[0069] The coating 200 may be resistant to vacuum. The resistance to vacuum can be evaluated by comparing the electrical sheet resistance of the coating 200 inside and outside the vacuum. In a vacuum, a coating resistant to vacuum can have an electrical sheet resistance within ± about 35%, ± about 30%, ± about 25%, ± about 20%, ± about 10%, or ± about 5% of the electrical sheet resistance of the coating outside the vacuum prior to that. In an embodiment where the coating 200 includes a nanolaminate coating of alumina and titania (the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer is about 5:2 and the coating was deposited at 200 °C), the electrical sheet resistance of the coating in a vacuum at 298 K (or 500 K) is within ± about 20% of the electrical sheet resistance of the coating outside the vacuum at 298 K (or 500 K), as can be seen from FIG. 8.

[0070] The coating 200 can have a Vickers hardness in the range of about 500 kg / mm 2 ~ about 1000 kg / mm 2 、about 600 kg / mm 2 ~ about 900 kg / mm 2 、or about 700 kg / mm 2 ~ about 800 kg / mm 2 The coating 200 can have an indentation rate in the range of about 100 GPa to about 300 GPa, about 120 GPa to about 250 GPa, or about 150 GPa to about 200 GPa.

[0071] In an embodiment where the coating 200 includes a nanolaminate coating of alumina and titania on silicon (the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer is 5:2, and the coating was deposited at 200 °C), the Vickers hardness value is about 791.88 ± 50.55 kg / mm 2 and the indentation rate is about 168.74 ± 7.42 GPa. The hardness and indentation rate can be measured using a nanoindenter at a temperature of about 21 - 23 °C, with maximum forces of about 0.5 mN, 1.0 mN, 2.0 mN, and 5.0 mN, a load application time of about 15 seconds, an unloading time of about 15 seconds, a dwell time of about 10 seconds, a Poisson's ratio of about 0.2, and an indenter ID Berkovich Diamond.

[0072] In comparison, the Vickers hardness value of 100 nm alumina deposited by ALD at 120 °C is about 510 kg / mm 2 and the Vickers hardness value of 100 nm titania deposited by ALD at 120 °C is about 127 kg / mm 2 For α - alumina minerals, the Vickers hardness is about 1365 kg / mm 2 and the elastic modulus is about 370 GPa. For anatase - type titania minerals, the Vickers hardness is about 980 kg / mm 2 and the elastic modulus is about 230 - 290 GPa.

[0073] The coating 200 can have a compositional purity of about 90% - about 100%, about 95% - about 99.9%, about 97% - about 99.8%, about 99% - about 99.7%, or about 99.5% as measured by X - ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

[0074] A suitable thickness for the coating 200 can range from about 1 nm to 1000 nm. In embodiments, the coating can have a maximum thickness of about 750 nm, about 500 nm, about 400 nm, about 300 nm, about 250 nm, about 200 nm, about 150 nm, about 100 nm, 50 nm, 30 nm, 20 nm, or another maximum thickness. In embodiments, the coating 200 can have a minimum thickness of 5 nm, 10 nm, 20 nm, 25 nm, 35 nm, 50 nm, 100 nm, 150 nm, or another minimum thickness.

[0075] Referring back to FIG. 1, the end effector 100 can include three contact pads 108. However, other embodiments may include other numbers of contact pads 108. The contact pads 108 are included in the end effector body and can minimize sliding of the substrate on the end effector body during transport. To reduce sliding of the substrate, certain end effectors include integrally machined contact pads. The integrally machined contact pads can have a domed contact surface with surface characteristics that contact and support the substrate and further reduce the tendency to slide. Each integrally machined contact pad may have a machined contact surface with a specific domed outer shape and surface roughness, thereby reducing the likelihood of the substrate sliding on that contact pad. In some cases, wear of the contact pads of the integrally machined end effector and its contamination by silicon particles / dust can increase the tendency of the substrate to slide on the contact pads, and thus limit the useful life of the end effector. To prevent the substrate from sliding, the entire end effector may be replaced periodically. In some embodiments, the coating 200 covers the contact pads 180. In some embodiments, the contact pads 180 are composed of an electrically dissipative material.

[0076] In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a replaceable contact pad is provided that can be quickly replaced and exchanged when worn. Thus, the overall cost of continuing to provide an end effector with low slidability can be dramatically reduced. An exemplary replaceable contact pad that can be disposed on the end effector body 102 is shown in FIG. 3.

[0077] As depicted in FIG. 3, the bottom surface 102B of the end effector body 102 may include a recess 214 formed therein. The recess 214 can be circular and may extend into the end effector body 102 from the bottom surface 102B to a depth HR. An aperture 215 may be formed within the end effector body 102 and may extend between the upper surface 102T and the recess 214. The recess 214 can have, for example, a recess diameter DR of about 5 mm to about 10 mm and a recess height HR of about 1.1 mm to about 2.0 mm. The aperture 215 can have, for example, an aperture diameter DA of about 2.8 mm to about 4.8 mm and an aperture height HA of about 0.85 mm to about 1.1 mm. Other diameters and heights and depths can be used. Each may be larger for use with a substrate having a diameter of 450 mm.

[0078] The contact pad 108 may include a contact pad head 208H having a contact surface 210 configured to contact the substrate 101. The contact surface 210 can include a domed shape. The contact surface 210 can have a surface roughness of Ra about 45 μin to Ra about 65 μin as measured using a surface gauge (such as a Surfcorder SE-2300 instrument compliant with JIS standards). The contact pad head 208H can have, for example, a contact pad height HP of about 1.0 mm to about 2.0 mm. The contact pad head 208H can have, for example, a contact pad diameter DP of 6.0 mm to 12.0 mm. Other suitable contact surface dimensions, outer shapes, radii, and surface roughnesses can be used.

[0079] The contact pad 108 may further include a shaft 212 coupled to the contact pad head 208H, and the shaft 212 may be received within the aperture 215. The contact pad head 208H and the shaft 212 may be integrally formed as one piece. The shaft 212 can further extend a certain distance from the lower side 213 of the contact pad head 208H into the recess 214. The shaft 212 may include a shaft indent 216 formed therein. The shaft 212 shall not extend below the bottom surface 102B of the end effector body 102 so as not to interfere with the installation of the substrate. The shaft indent 216 may be provided in the form of a groove and may be formed within the shaft 212 at a location between the lower side 213 of the contact pad head 208H and the shaft end 212E of the shaft 212.

[0080] The shaft indent 216 may include a surface profile having an arcuate bottom. The circular fixing member 218 may be received around the shaft 212 and may seat within the shaft indent 216 to fix the contact pad 108 to the end effector body 102. When the circular fixing member 218 seats in the shaft indent 216, the circular fixing member 218 also contacts the seating surface 214S of the recess 214 and at least a portion of the shaft indent 216. In the illustrated embodiment, the circular fixing member 218 includes an O-ring that is pressurized against the seating surface 214S immediately after installation. The O-ring may be manufactured from an elastomeric material such as a perfluoroelastomer available as KALREZ® from DUPONT PERFORMANCE ELASTOMERS, a copolymer of hexafluoropropylene (HFP) and vinylidene fluoride (VDF or VF2) available as VITON® from The Chemours Company, and other suitable high-temperature elastomers. The elastomeric O-ring can be used up to approximately 316°C.

[0081] It is possible to use an arrangement configuration of the replaceable contact pad 108 other than that shown. For example, a replaceable contact pad configured for use at a high temperature of about 250°C to about 650°C, or higher than about 320°C, may be used. In an alternative embodiment, the shaft indentation 216 may vary (e.g., in shape, and / or dimensions, and / or location), the fixing member 218 may vary (e.g., in shape, and / or dimensions, and / or location, and / or the material of the component), any dimension of any part of the contact pad may vary, and the material of the component of the contact pad may vary, etc.

[0082] In certain embodiments, the contact pad 108 may be made of, include, or be composed of any of the materials of the components listed above for the end effector body. For example, in some embodiments, the contact pad 108 may include glass, quartz, ceramic, or a conductive material (such as a metal material). Exemplary ceramics may include bulk alumina, alumina-SiC composites, SiC, silicon nitride, boron nitride, and boron. Exemplary conductive materials may include stainless steel, aluminum, nickel, copper, chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, ruthenium, tungsten, platinum, or other suitable metals or alloys (e.g., aluminum alloy Al6061).

[0083] The coating described above with respect to FIG. 2 can be deposited on the upper surface of the end effector body (such as the end effector body 102) and on the contact surface of the contact pad head (such as 208H) of the contact pad deposited on the end effector body.

[0084] Figure 4 depicts an embodiment of a deposition process by ALD technique for depositing a coating on an article such as a chamber component (e.g., an end effector body with or without contact pads). One or more chamber components (e.g., one or more end effectors) to be coated with any of the coatings described herein can be placed in a controlled temperature-pressure deposition chamber prior to the start of a selected deposition process such as ALD, CVD, PEALD, MOCVD, MBE, etc.

[0085] There are various types of ALD processes, and a specific type can be selected based on several factors such as the surface to be coated, the coating material, and the chemical interaction between the surface and the coating material. The general principle of various ALD processes involves growing a thin film layer by repeatedly exposing the surface to be coated to pulses of a chemical precursor gas that self-controlledly chemically reacts with the surface once at a time.

[0086] Figure 4 illustrates an article 110 having a surface. The article 110 can represent a chamber component (such as an end effector body similar to the end effector body 102 depicted in FIG. 1). In ALD, either the adsorption of the precursor on the surface or the reaction of the adsorbed precursor with the reactant may be referred to as a "half-reaction". During the first half-reaction, a precursor 160 containing a first material (such as a metal-containing precursor) is injected / pulsed onto the surface of the article 110 for a certain period of time such that the precursor is fully adsorbed on the surface. Adsorption is self-controlled because the precursor adsorbs onto a finite number of available sites on the surface, forming a uniform, conformal, and continuous adsorption layer 114 on the surface. Any site that has already adsorbed the precursor becomes unavailable for further adsorption with the same precursor until and / or unless the adsorbed site is subjected to a process where the adsorbed site forms a uniform, conformal, and continuous coating over new available sites. Exemplary processes can be plasma treatment, treatment by exposing the adsorption layer to radicals, or introduction of a different precursor that can react with the last layer adsorbed on the surface.

[0087] In some embodiments, two or more precursors are injected / pulsed together simultaneously or sequentially and adsorbed onto the surface of the article. Excess precursor is ejected / purged with an inert gas. Thereafter, a first reactant 165 (e.g., an oxygen-containing oxidation / hydroxylation reactant, a nitrogen-containing reactant, a carbon-containing reactant, etc.) is injected / pulsed and reacts with the adsorption layer 114 to form a layer 116 containing a first material (e.g., a first metal oxide layer, or a plurality of metal oxide layers). The layer 116 containing the first material can be uniform, continuous, conformal, and can have low porosity. In some embodiments, after one ALD deposition cycle, the layer 116 can have a thickness of less than one atomic layer to several atoms.

[0088] Multiple complete ALD deposition cycles can be implemented to deposit a thicker layer 116, and each complete cycle (e.g., including introducing precursor 160, flashing / purging, introducing reactant 165, and flashing / purging again) adds thickness by an additional few atoms to several atoms. As shown, up to n complete cycles can be performed to grow the layer 116 until a first target thickness is achieved, where n is an integer value greater than 1. In embodiments, the layer 116 can have a first target thickness in the range of about 5 angstroms to about 100 angstroms, about 10 angstroms to about 80 angstroms, or about 20 angstroms to about 50 angstroms. In some embodiments, the first target thickness can be in the range of about 1 nm to about 1000 nm, about 20 nm to about 500 nm, about 20 nm to about 400 nm, about 20 nm to about 300 nm, about 20 nm to about 200 nm, about 20 nm to about 100 nm, about 50 nm to about 100 nm, or about 20 nm to about 50 nm.

[0089] Next, article 110 having layer 116 that includes a first material may be introduced to additional precursors, such as precursor 170 (e.g., a second metal-containing precursor) that includes a second material, for a second duration to form a third half-reaction and / or until second adsorption layer 118 is formed. Next, article 110 may be introduced to second reactant 175 to react with adsorption layer 118 to form a fourth half-reaction and / or to grow layer 120 that includes a second material. Layer 120 may be uniform, continuous, conformal, and may have low porosity. Layer 120 may have a thickness of less than one atom to several atoms (e.g., 2-3 atoms) after one complete cycle (e.g., including introducing precursor 170, flashing / purging, introducing reactant 175, and flashing / purging again). Multiple cycles may be implemented to deposit a thicker layer 120, with each cycle adding thickness by an additional few atoms to several atoms. As shown, the complete cycle is repeated m times such that layer 120 has a second target thickness, where m is an integer value greater than 1. In embodiments, layer 120 may have a second target thickness of from about 1 angstrom to about 50 angstroms, from about 5 angstroms to about 30 angstroms, or from about 10 angstroms to about 20 angstroms. In some embodiments, the second target thickness may range from about 1 nm to about 1000 nm, from about 20 nm to about 500 nm, from about 20 nm to about 400 nm, from about 20 nm to about 300 nm, from about 20 nm to about 200 nm, from about 20 nm to about 100 nm, from about 50 nm to about 100 nm, or from about 20 nm to about 50 nm.

[0090] The complete ALD deposition cycle can be repeated z times until the total target thickness for the coating is achieved. The cycle number z can be expressed as a fraction or an integer having a value greater than 1 (e.g., 2 - 50, 5 - 30, 7 - 17, and any other numbers, or ranges of numbers within these ranges). The total target thickness can be in the range of about 1 nm to about 1000 nm, about 20 nm to about 500 nm, about 20 nm to about 400 nm, about 20 nm to about 300 nm, about 20 nm to about 200 nm, about 20 nm to about 100 nm, about 50 nm to about 100 nm, or about 20 nm to about 50 nm. The final coating may include a laminate of layers in which layer 116 containing a first material and layer 120 containing a second material alternate.

[0091] The process described herein for forming a laminate of alternating layers can also be referred to herein as sequential deposition. Other ALD sequences such as co - deposition or co - dosing can also be used herein (e.g., co - injecting multiple metal - containing precursors, or sequentially injecting multiple metal - containing precursors prior to introducing reactants into the ALD deposition chamber).

[0092] After the laminate of alternating layers is formed, an annealing process can be carried out to diffuse the alternating layers of different materials into each other to form, in some embodiments, a composite coating having a single crystalline phase / amorphous phase or multiple crystalline phases / amorphous phases (e.g., composite oxides, composite hydroxides, composite nitrides, composite carbides, etc.). After the annealing process, the laminate of alternating layers can become a single inter - diffused coating layer (not shown in FIG. 4). For example, if the layers of the laminate are Y2O3, Al2O3, and ZrO2, the resulting single inter - diffused coating layer can be a ceramic compound containing Y4Al2O9 and a Y2O3 - ZrO2 solid solution.

[0093] The ratio of the number of cycles n (for depositing layer 116 containing the first material) to the number of cycles m (for depositing layer 120 containing the second material) can be specified as n:m. n:m can correspond to the ratio of the first target thickness of each layer 116 to the second target thickness of each layer 120. n:m can also correspond to the composition ratio of the first material to the second material in the coating 200.

[0094] In one embodiment, the coating 200 may be deposited on the upper surface 102T of the end effector body (or the upper surface of other chamber components) using an ALD process as described in FIG. 4. The coating 200 may include an electrically dissipative material that is a laminate of alternating nano-layers 116 and 120 (which may also be referred to herein as a nano-laminate). The ratio of the thickness of each nano-layer 116 to the thickness of each nano-layer 120 in the laminate may be in the range of about 50:1 to about 1:50, about 30:1 to about 1:30, about 20:1 to about 1:20, about 10:1 to about 1:10, about 10:1 to about 1:1, about 8:1 to about 1:1, about 5:1 to about 1:1, about 10:1 to about 2:1, about 8:1 to about 2:1, about 5:1 to about 2:1, or about 5:2 to about 1:1.

[0095] The first target thickness of the layer containing the first material and the second target thickness of the layer containing the second material may be different separately for one deposition cycle and another deposition cycle. For example, one layer of the layer containing the first material may have a thickness of 5 nm, and another layer of the layer containing the first material may have a thickness of 7 nm. Similarly, one layer of the layer containing the second material may have a thickness of 2 nm, and another layer of the layer containing the second material may have a thickness of 3 nm.

[0096] The deposition process temperature may correspond to the reactant composition in the coating 200. In other words, the deposition process temperature may determine the amounts of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, etc. in the coating 200. The ALD process can be performed at various temperatures depending on the type of the process. The temperature range optimal for a particular ALD process is referred to as the "ALD temperature window". Temperatures below the ALD temperature window may result in poor growth rates and non-ALD type depositions. Temperatures above the ALD temperature window may result in reactions that are taken over by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) mechanisms. The ALD temperature window can be in the range of about 80°C to about 500°C, about 100°C to about 400°C. In some embodiments, the ALD temperature window is between about 100 - 300°C, or about 200°C.

[0097] The electrostatic dissipation of a chamber component (such as an end effector body) coated with the coating 200 can be a function of the electrical surface resistance (or sheet resistance) of the coating 200. The electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating 200 may be a function of the coating composition (e.g., n:m ratio and reactant composition / component) and the thickness of the coating (determined by the number of complete ALD cycles, i.e., the z value). For example, according to the ASTM D-257 method, measuring all electrical sheet resistances, a 50 nm thick alumina-titania nanolaminate with a ratio of alumina layer thickness to titania layer thickness of 5 nm:2 nm has an electrical sheet resistance of about 1.6×10 7 Ω / sq., and a 100 nm thick alumina-titania nanolaminate with a ratio of alumina layer thickness to titania layer thickness of 5 nm:2 nm has an electrical surface / sheet resistance of about 9.4×10 6 Ω / sq., and a 100 nm thick alumina-titania nanolaminate with a ratio of alumina layer thickness to titania layer thickness of 5 nm:1 nm had an electrical sheet resistance of about 7.5×10 7 Ω / sq.

[0098] As can be understood from the ALD process described above in this specification, the coating 200 can create a nanolaminate that is formed using an atomically precise, layer-by-layer approach and has a composition and thickness that can be controlled in the sub-nanometer range.

[0099] In one embodiment, layer 116 may be alumina and layer 120 may be titania. Exemplary aluminum-containing precursors that can be used to deposit an alumina layer include, but are not limited to, trimethylaluminum (TMA), diethylaluminum ethoxide, tris(ethylmethylamide)aluminum, aluminum sec-butoxide, aluminum tribromide, aluminum trichloride, triethylaluminum (TEA), triisobutylaluminum, trimethylaluminum, or tris(diethylamide)aluminum.

[0100] Exemplary titanium-containing precursors that can be used to deposit a titania layer include, but are not limited to, tetrakis(dimethylamide)titanium, tetrakis(ethylmethylamide)titanium, titanium tetrachloride, titanium ethoxide, titanium isopropoxide, methylcyclopentadienyltitanium isopropoxide, titanium dimethylaminoethoxide isopropoxide variant, tris(dimethylamide)ethylcyclopentadienyltitanium, cycloheptatrienylcyclopentadienyltitanium, tris(methoxy)cyclopentadienyltitanium.

[0101] Depending on the composition of the coating 200, other metal-containing precursors may be used.

[0102] Yttrium-based coatings may be deposited by ALD using yttrium-containing precursors such as, but not limited to, tris(N,N-bis(trimethylsilyl)amide)yttrium(III), yttrium(III) butoxide, tris(cyclopentadienyl)yttrium(III), and Y(thd)3 (thd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionate).

[0103] Zirconium-based coatings may be deposited by ALD using zirconium-containing precursors such as, but not limited to, zirconium(IV) bromide, zirconium(IV) chloride, zirconium(IV) tert-butoxide, tetrakis(diethylamide)zirconium(IV), tetrakis(dimethylamide)zirconium(IV), or tetrakis(ethylmethylamide)zirconium(IV).

[0104] Hafnium-based coatings may be deposited by ALD using hafnium-containing precursors such as, but not limited to, HfCl4, TEMAHf, TDMAHf, HfCp variants, ZrCp variants, etc.

[0105] Erbium-based coatings may be deposited by ALD using erbium-containing precursors such as, but not limited to, tris-methylcyclopentadienyl erbium(III) (Er(MeCp)3), erbium borane amide (Er(BA)3), Er(TMHD)3, erbium(III) tris(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionate), and tris(butylcyclopentadienyl)erbium(III).

[0106] Exemplary oxidants that can be used in the ALD process include, but are not limited to, oxygen, oxygen radicals, water, ozone, alcohol reactants, etc. Other exemplary reactants that can be used in the ALD process to form a stack of electrically dissipative layers include, but are not limited to, reducing agents (H2, H2 plasma, organometallic reagents such as aluminum hydride derivatives, silane), nitriding agents (ammonia, amines, N2), carburizing agents (alkanes), etc.

[0107] In some embodiments, the coating 200 may be deposited on the surface of a chamber component (e.g., an end effector body, with or without contact pads) by a CVD process. An exemplary CVD system is illustrated in FIG. 5. The system includes a chemical vapor precursor supply system 505 and a CVD reactor 510. The role of the vapor precursor supply system 505 is to generate a vapor precursor 520 from a starting material 515, which may be in solid, liquid, or gaseous form. The vapor is then transported into the CVD reactor 510 and may be deposited on the surface of an article 530 (such as the upper surface 102T of the end effector body) as a coating 525 and / or 545, and the article 530 may be positioned in an article holder 535.

[0108] The coating depicted in FIG. 5 includes two layers, layer 525 and layer 545. Although only two layers are illustrated with respect to the CVD process, those skilled in the art will understand that multilayer coatings (such as a stack of two or more alternating layers) are also contemplated herein with respect to the CVD process. Multilayer coatings including stacks of alternating layers of alumina and titania deposited by CVD are contemplated in certain embodiments herein.

[0109] The CVD reactor 510 heats the article 530 to a deposition temperature using a heater 540. In some embodiments, the heater may heat the walls of the CVD reactor (also known as a "hot wall reactor"), and the walls of the reactor may transfer heat to the article. In other embodiments, the walls of the CVD reactor may be kept cold and only the article may be heated (also known as a "cold wall reactor"). It should be understood that the configuration of the CVD system should not be construed as limiting. A variety of equipment can be utilized in the CVD system, and the equipment is selected to obtain optimal processing conditions that can provide a coating having a uniform thickness, surface morphology, structure, and composition.

[0110] Various CVD techniques include the following phases: (1) generating reactive gas species (also known as "precursors") from starting materials, (2) transporting the precursors to a reaction chamber (also referred to as a "reactor"), (3) absorbing the precursors on a heated article, (4) participating in a chemical reaction between the precursors and the article at the gas-solid interface to form deposits and gaseous by-products, and (5) removing the gaseous by-products and unreacted gaseous precursors from the reaction chamber.

[0111] Suitable CVD precursors can be stable at room temperature, may have a low vaporization temperature, produce a stable vapor at low temperatures, have a suitable deposition rate (slow deposition rate for thin film coatings, fast deposition rate for thick film coatings), relatively low toxicity, be cost-effective, and can be relatively pure. In some CVD reactions, such as pyrolysis reactions (also known as "thermal decomposition") or disproportionation reactions, only chemical precursors may be sufficient to complete the deposition.

[0112] CVD has many advantages, including its ability to deposit high-density pure coatings and its ability to create uniform films with good reproducibility and adhesion at a moderately fast deposition rate. In embodiments, the layer deposited using CVD may have a porosity of less than 1%, less than 0.1%, or may be non-porous (e.g., 0% porosity). Therefore, it can be used to uniformly coat complex-shaped parts and deposit conformal films with good conformal coverage (e.g., with a substantially uniform thickness). CVD can also be utilized, for example, to deposit films made from multiple components by feeding multiple chemical precursors into a mixing chamber at a predetermined rate and then supplying the mixture to a CVD reactor system.

[0113] The CVD processes contemplated herein may utilize some of the precursors listed above with respect to the ALD processes contemplated herein.

[0114] In certain embodiments, it may be preferable to deposit the coating 200 using an ALD process rather than a CVD process.

[0115] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an electronic device processing tool 600 that includes a transfer robot 650 having an end effector 100 that supports a substrate 101 (shown in dotted lines for illustration purposes), where the substrate 101 is supported on (integral or replaceable) contact pads. The end effector 100 (with or without contact pads deposited thereon) may be coated with an electrically dissipative material using an ALD, CVD, PEALD, or MBE process as described herein. The electronic device processing tool 600 may include a plurality of processing chambers 655 (shown in dotted lines) coupled to a transfer chamber 648. The transfer chamber 648 may house a transfer chamber (TC) robot 650. The TC robot 650 may have a first arm 651, a second arm 652, and a third arm 653 (e.g., a robot wrist). The end effector 100 is coupled to the third arm 653 via a mounting plate 654 or the like. The end effector 100 can contact and support the substrate 101 thereon (e.g., a semiconductor wafer, a glass plate, etc.).

[0116] The transfer chamber 648 of the processing tool 600 may be connected to a factory interface 662 via one or more load lock chambers 656. The factory interface 662 may house a factory interface (FI) robot 661. The FI robot 661 may be capable of having a replaceable contact pad 108 as described herein and may include an end effector (not shown but substantially identical to the end effector 100) that can be coated with an electrically dissipative material using an ALD or CVD process as described herein.

[0117] The substrate carrier 664 may be detachably connected to the front wall of the factory interface 662, and the substrate 101 inside it can be moved between the substrate carrier 664 and one or more load lock chambers 656 by the FI robot 661.

[0118] The processing tool 100 may be coupled to the controller 665. The controller 665 can control the substrate 101 and its processing movement. The controller 665 may include, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), support circuits, and memory. During operation, the TC robot 650 operates under the command of the controller 665 and can move the substrate 101, for example, between various processing chambers 655 and the load lock chamber 656, or between different processing chambers 655.

[0119] As the manufacturing process progresses, the FI robot 661 and the TC robot 650 can operate simultaneously to move the substrate 101 between the substrate carrier 664 and the processing chamber 655. Various electronic device assembly processes, such as semiconductor device manufacturing processes like oxidation, thin film deposition, etching, heat treatment, degassing, cooling, etc., can be performed within the processing chamber 655.

[0120] The TC chamber robot 650 is described as having an end effector coated with an electrostatic dissipative coating, but the FI robot 661 may additionally or alternatively include an end effector with an electrostatic dissipative coating.

[0121] In the first embodiment, a coated chamber component, which is the chamber component and the coating deposited on the surface of the chamber component, the coating includes an electrostatic dissipative material, the electrostatic dissipative material provides a dissipation path from the coating to the ground, the coating is uniform, conformal, and non-porous, the coating has a thickness in the range of about 10 nm to about 900 nm, and the coating has a resistance of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11A coated chamber component is described that includes a coating having an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of Ω / sq.

[0122] In a second embodiment, a coated chamber component of the first embodiment is described, wherein the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating remains unchanged after being subjected to a thermal cycle at a temperature in the range of about 300 °C to about 700 °C.

[0123] In a third embodiment, a coated chamber component of the first embodiment is described, wherein the coating has a thickness in the range of about 20 nm to about 900 nm.

[0124] In a fourth embodiment, a coated chamber component of the first embodiment is described, wherein the chamber component includes a conductive material, ceramic, polymer, or quartz.

[0125] In a fifth embodiment, a coated chamber component of the first embodiment is described, wherein the coating has a Vickers hardness in the range of about 500 kg / mm 2 ~ about 1000 kg / mm 2 In a sixth embodiment, a coated chamber component of the first embodiment is described, wherein the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating is uniform as demonstrated by a variation in the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the entire coating being less than ± about 35%.

[0126]

[0127] In a seventh embodiment, a coated chamber component of the first embodiment is described, wherein the electrically dissipative material includes a laminate in which layers containing a first material and layers containing a second material alternate.

[0128] In an eighth embodiment, a coated chamber component of the seventh embodiment is described, wherein the layer containing the first material includes a metal or metal alloy containing one or more of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, Ca-Al, Si.

[0129] In the ninth embodiment, the layer containing the second material describes the coated chamber component of the seventh embodiment, which includes a transition metal, a rare earth element, a main group metal, a semiconductor, or an alloy thereof.

[0130] In the tenth embodiment, the layer containing the second material describes the coated chamber component of the ninth embodiment, which includes one or more of Ti, Fe, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn, V, Y, Nb, In, Sn, Fe-Co, La-Ta.

[0131] In the eleventh embodiment, in the alternating laminate, the ratio of the thickness of each layer containing the first material to the thickness of each layer containing the second material is in the range of about 50:1 to about 1:50, and the coated chamber component of the seventh embodiment is described.

[0132] In the twelfth embodiment, the coating describes the coated chamber component of the first embodiment, which is resistant to corrosive plasma.

[0133] In the thirteenth embodiment, a method includes depositing a coating on the surface of a chamber component using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, a plasma atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process, a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), or a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process. The coating includes an electrically dissipative material that provides a dissipation path from the coating to ground. The coating is uniform, conformal, and non-porous. The coating has a thickness in the range of about 10 nm to about 900 nm, and the coating has an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq., and the method is described.

[0134] In the 14th embodiment, depositing the coating using an ALD process involves injecting a precursor containing a first material into a deposition chamber containing chamber components, adsorbing the precursor containing the first material onto the surface of the chamber components to form a first half-reaction, injecting a first reactant into the deposition chamber to form a second half-reaction, injecting the precursor containing the first material one or more times and injecting the first reactant one or more times until a first target thickness of the layer containing the first material of the coating is achieved, injecting a precursor containing a second material into the deposition chamber, adsorbing the precursor containing the second material onto the layer containing the first material to form a third half-reaction, injecting a second reactant into the deposition chamber to form a fourth half-reaction, injecting the precursor containing the second material one or more times and injecting the second reactant one or more times until a second target thickness of the layer containing the second material of the coating is achieved, and repeating the deposition cycle one or more times until a thickness in the range of about 20 nm to about 500 nm is achieved. The method of the 13th embodiment is described, which includes performing a deposition cycle.

[0135] In the 15th embodiment, the ratio of the first target thickness to the second target thickness is in the range of about 50:1 to about 1:50. The method of the 13th embodiment is described.

[0136] In the 16th embodiment, the first target thickness and the second target thickness may be different separately for one deposition cycle and another deposition cycle. The method of the 13th embodiment is described.

[0137] In the 17th embodiment, the coating has an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq., and the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating is uniform as demonstrated by the variation in the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the entire coating being less than ± about 35%. The method of the 13th embodiment is described.

[0138] In the 18th embodiment, the layer containing the first material includes a metal or metal alloy containing one or more of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, Ca-Al, and Si, and the layer containing the second material includes one or more of Ti, Fe, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn, V, Y, Nb, In, Sn, Fe-Co, and La-Ta. The method of the 13th embodiment is described.

[0139] In the 19th embodiment, an electrically dissipative coating containing an electrically dissipative material, the coating being uniform, conformal, and non-porous, the coating having a thickness in the range of about 20 nm to about 500 nm, and 5 the coating having an electrical surface / sheet resistance in the range of about 1×10 11 Ω / sq. to about 1×10

[0140] Ω / sq. is described. In the 20th embodiment, the electrically dissipative material includes a laminate in which the layer containing the first material and the layer containing the second material are alternately arranged. The layer containing the first material includes a metal or metal alloy containing one or more of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, Ca-Al, and Si, and the layer containing the second material includes one or more of Ti, Fe, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn, V, Y, Nb, In, Sn, Fe-Co, and La-Ta. The coating has a Vickers hardness in the range of about 500 kg / mm 2 to about 1000 kg / mm 2 and the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the coating is uniform as demonstrated by the variation in the electrical surface / sheet resistance of the entire coating being less than ± about 35%. The electrically dissipative coating of the 19th embodiment is described.

[0141] In the 21st embodiment, an end effector for a robotic arm is described, which includes an end effector body and a coating deposited on the surface of the end effector body. The coating contains an electrically dissipative material that provides a dissipation path from the coating to ground. The coating is uniform, conformal, and non-porous, has a thickness in the range of about 20 nm to about 500 nm, and has an electrical resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq. The end effector for the robotic arm includes the coating.

[0142] In the 22nd embodiment, the end effector of the 21st embodiment is described, where the electrical resistance of the coating remains unchanged after being subjected to a thermal cycle at a temperature in the range of about 300 °C to about 700 °C.

[0143] In the 23rd embodiment, the end effector of the 21st embodiment is described, where the coating has a thickness in the range of about 20 nm to about 200 nm.

[0144] In the 24th embodiment, the end effector of the 21st embodiment is described, where the end effector body includes a conductive material, ceramic, or quartz.

[0145] In the 25th embodiment, the end effector of the 24th embodiment is described, where the end effector body includes a conductive material that is metal.

[0146] In the 26th embodiment, the end effector of the 21st embodiment is described, where the end effector body includes a ceramic that is bulk alumina.

[0147] In the 27th embodiment, the end effector of the 26th embodiment is described, where the electrically dissipative material includes a conductive material, alumina, titania, or a combination thereof.

[0148] In the 28th embodiment, the end effector of the 27th embodiment is described, where the electrically dissipative material includes a laminate in which alumina and titania alternate with each other.

[0149] In the 29th embodiment, the method of the 28th embodiment is described, where in a laminate in which alumina and titania alternate with each other, the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer is in the range of about 10:1 to about 1:1.

[0150] In the 30th embodiment, the end effector of the 24th embodiment is described, where the end effector body includes quartz and the coating is transparent.

[0151] In the 31st embodiment, the end effector of the 21st embodiment is described, where the coating is resistant to corrosive plasma.

[0152] In the 32nd embodiment, the end effector of the 21st embodiment is described, which further includes a replaceable contact pad disposed on the end effector body. The replaceable contact pad includes a contact pad head having a contact surface configured to contact the substrate, and a shaft that is coupled to the contact pad head and received within an aperture formed in the end effector body and extends into a recess.

[0153] In the 33rd embodiment, the end effector of the 32nd embodiment is described, where the coating is deposited on the surface of the end effector body and the contact surface of the contact pad head.

[0154] In the 34th embodiment, a method includes depositing a coating on a surface of an end effector for a robotic arm using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process or a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, the coating including an electrically dissipative material, the electrically dissipative material providing a dissipation path from the coating to ground, the coating being uniform, conformal, and non-porous, the coating having a thickness in the range of about 20 nm to about 500 nm, and the coating having an electrical resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq. A method is described.

[0155] In the 35th embodiment, depositing the coating using an ALD process includes injecting a precursor containing a first material into a deposition chamber containing an end effector body to adsorb the precursor containing the first material onto the surface of the end effector body to form a first half-reaction, injecting a first reactant into the deposition chamber to form a second half-reaction, repeating one or more times the injecting of the precursor containing the first material and the injecting of the first reactant until a first target thickness of a layer of the coating containing the first material is achieved, injecting a precursor containing a second material into the deposition chamber to adsorb the precursor containing the second material onto the layer containing the first material to form a third half-reaction, injecting a second reactant into the deposition chamber to form a fourth half-reaction, repeating one or more times the injecting of the precursor containing the second material and the injecting of the second reactant until a second target thickness of a layer of the coating containing the second material is achieved, and repeating the deposition cycle one or more times until a thickness in the range of about 20 nm to about 500 nm is achieved. The method of the 34th embodiment including performing a deposition cycle is described.

[0156] In the 36th embodiment, the coating includes a laminate in which alumina and titania are alternating, the precursor containing the first material is an aluminum-containing precursor including at least one of trimethylaluminum (TMA), diethylaluminum ethoxide, tris(ethylmethylamide)aluminum, aluminum sec-butoxide, aluminum tribromide, aluminum trichloride, triethylaluminum (TEA), triisobutylaluminum, trimethylaluminum, or tris(diethylamide)aluminum, the precursor containing the second material is a titanium-containing precursor including at least one of tetrakis(dimethylamide)titanium, and the method of the 35th embodiment is described, wherein the first reactant and the second reactant independently include at least one of water, ozone, alcohol, and oxygen.

[0157] In the 37th embodiment, in a laminate in which alumina and titania are alternating, the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer ranges from about 10:1 to about 1:1, and the method of the 36th embodiment is described.

[0158] In the 38th embodiment, a substrate processing system is described, which includes a chamber, a robot disposed in the chamber, and a robot arm connected to the robot. The robot arm includes an end effector body and a replaceable contact pad disposed on the end effector body. The replaceable contact pad includes a contact pad head having a contact surface configured to contact the substrate, and a shaft that is coupled to the contact pad head and received within an aperture formed in the body of the end effector and extends into a recess. The substrate processing system further includes a coating deposited on the surface of the end effector body and the contact surface of the contact pad head, the coating including an electrically dissipative material. The electrically dissipative material provides a dissipation path from the coating to ground, and the coating is uniform and conformal.

[0159] In the 39th embodiment, the end effector body includes a conductive material, ceramic, or quartz, and the coating has an electrical resistance in the range of about 1×10 5 Ω / sq. to about 1×10 11 Ω / sq., the coating has a thickness in the range of about 20 nm to about 500 nm, and the coating is non-porous. The substrate processing system of the 38th embodiment is described.

[0160] In the 40th embodiment, the end effector body includes bulk alumina, and the electrically dissipative material includes a laminate in which alumina and titania alternate. The substrate processing system of the 38th embodiment is described.

[0161] In the foregoing description, numerous specific details such as specific materials, dimensions, process parameters, etc. are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. The phrases "example" or "exemplary" are used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as "example" or "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, the use of the phrases "example" or "exemplary" is merely intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this disclosure, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless stated otherwise or otherwise apparent from the context, "X includes A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, "X includes A or B" is satisfied under any of the following cases: X includes A, X includes B, or X includes both A and B. References throughout this specification to "an embodiment", "a particular embodiment", or "one embodiment" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "an embodiment", "a particular embodiment", or "one embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0162] The present invention has been described with reference to its specific and exemplary embodiments. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. In addition to what is shown and described herein, various modifications of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art and are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An end effector for a robotic arm, comprising: An end effector body; and A coating deposited on the surface of the end effector body, the coating comprising an electrically dissipative material wherein The electrically dissipative material provides a dissipation path from the coating to ground, The coating is uniform, conformal, and non-porous, The coating has a thickness in the range of 20 nm to 500 nm; and The coating has an electrical resistance in the range of 1×10 ５ Ω / sq. to 1×10 １１ Ω / sq., and The coating comprises a layer containing one or more first materials and a layer containing one or more second materials, The layer containing one or more first materials is in a metallic form containing at least one of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, and Ca-Al, or in a hydroxide form containing at least one of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, and Ca-Al, The layer containing one or more second materials contains a transition metal, rare earth, main group metal, semiconductor, or an alloy thereof, The end effector.

2. The end effector according to claim 1, wherein the electrical resistance of the coating remains unchanged after being subjected to a thermal cycle at a temperature in the range of 300 °C to 700 °C.

3. The end effector according to claim 1, wherein the coating has a thickness in the range of 20 nm to 200 nm.

4. The end effector according to claim 1, wherein the end effector body comprises a conductive material, ceramic, or quartz.

5. The end effector according to claim 4, wherein the end effector body comprises a conductive material that is a metal.

6. The end effector according to claim 4, wherein the end effector body comprises quartz and the coating is transparent.

7. The end effector according to claim 1, wherein the end effector body comprises a ceramic that is bulk alumina.

8. The end effector according to claim 7, wherein the electrically dissipative material comprises alumina, titania, or a combination thereof.

9. The end effector according to claim 8, wherein the electrically dissipative material comprises an alternating laminate of alumina and titania.

10. The end effector according to claim 9, wherein the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer in the alternating laminate of alumina and titania is in the range of 10:1 to 1:

1.

11. The end effector according to claim 1, wherein the coating is resistant to corrosive plasma.

12. Further comprising a replaceable contact pad disposed on the end effector body, the replaceable contact pad including a contact pad head having a contact surface configured to contact the substrate, and a shaft coupled to the contact pad head and received within an aperture formed in the body of the end effector and extending into the recess, the end effector according to claim 1.

13. The end effector according to claim 12, wherein a coating is deposited on the surface of the end effector body and the contact surface of the contact pad head.

14. A method comprising depositing a coating comprising an electrically dissipative material on a surface of an end effector for a robotic arm using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process or a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, The electrically dissipative material provides a dissipation path from the coating to ground, the coating is uniform, conformal, and non-porous, the coating has a thickness in the range of 20 nm to 500 nm, and the coating has an electrical resistance in the range of 1×10 ５ Ω / sq. to 1×10 １１ Ω / sq. the coating comprising a layer comprising one or more first materials and a layer comprising one or more second materials, the layer comprising one or more first materials being in a metallic form comprising at least one of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, and Ca-Al, or in a hydroxide form comprising at least one of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, and Ca-Al, the layer comprising one or more second materials comprising a transition metal, a rare earth, a main group metal, a semiconductor, or an alloy thereof, method.

15. Depositing the coating using an ALD process comprises injecting a precursor comprising a first material into a deposition chamber comprising the end effector body to adsorb the precursor comprising the first material onto the surface of the end effector body to form a first half-reaction; injecting a first reactant into the deposition chamber to form a second half-reaction; repeating injecting the precursor comprising the first material and injecting the first reactant one or more times until a first target thickness of the layer comprising the first material of the coating is achieved; injecting a precursor comprising a second material into the deposition chamber to adsorb the precursor comprising the second material onto the layer comprising the first material to form a third half-reaction; injecting a second reactant into the deposition chamber to form a fourth half-reaction; repeating injecting the precursor comprising the second material and injecting the second reactant one or more times until a second target thickness of the layer comprising the second material of the coating is achieved; and Repeat the deposition cycle one or more times until a thickness in the range of 20 nm to 500 nm is achieved, and The method according to claim 14, comprising:

16. The coating comprises a laminate in which alumina and titania alternate, The precursor containing the first material is an aluminum-containing precursor containing at least one of trimethylaluminum (TMA), diethylaluminum ethoxide, tris(ethylmethylamide)aluminum, aluminum sec-butoxide, aluminum tribromide, aluminum trichloride, triethylaluminum (TEA), triisobutylaluminum, trimethylaluminum, or tris(diethylamide)aluminum, The precursor containing the second material is a titanium-containing precursor containing at least one of tetrakis(dimethylamide)titanium, and the first reactant and the second reactant independently contain at least one of water, ozone, alcohol, and oxygen, The method according to claim 15.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the ratio of the thickness of each alumina layer to the thickness of each titania layer in the alternating laminate of alumina and titania is in the range of 10:1 to 1:

1.

18. Chamber; A robot disposed in the chamber; A robot arm connected to the robot and including an end effector body; A replaceable contact pad disposed on the end effector body, the contact pad having a contact surface configured to contact a substrate, a contact pad head, and a shaft coupled to the contact pad head and received in an aperture formed in the body of the end effector and extending into a recess; and A coating containing an electrically dissipative material deposited on the surface of the end effector body and the contact surface of the contact pad head A substrate processing system comprising: The electrically dissipative material provides a dissipation path from the coating to ground, the coating is uniform and conformal, The coating includes a layer containing one or more first materials and a layer containing one or more second materials, The layer containing one or more first materials is in a metallic form containing at least one of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, and Ca-Al, or in a hydroxide form containing at least one of Al, Zr, Y-Zr, Mg-Al, and Ca-Al, A layer containing one or more second materials comprises a transition metal, a rare earth, a main group metal, a semiconductor, or an alloy thereof, A substrate processing system. Claim 19 The end effector body includes a conductive material, ceramic, or quartz, and the coating has an electrical resistance in the range of 1 × 10 ５ Ω / sq. to 1 × 10 １１ Ω / sq., the coating has a thickness in the range of 20 nm to 500 nm, and the coating is non-porous, the substrate processing system according to claim 18. Claim 20 The substrate processing system according to claim 18, wherein the end effector body comprises bulk alumina and the electrical dissipation material comprises a laminate in which alumina and titania alternate.

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