Method of forming sintered semiconductor chamber component

Abstract

Exemplary methods for forming sintered semiconductor chamber devices may include applying a binder solution and a ceramic-containing powder with an anti-corrosion coating to a printing bed to form the body of the semiconductor device. These methods may also include sintering the body of the semiconductor device to form the semiconductor device from the ceramic-containing powder with an anti-corrosion coating.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 639,677, filed April 18, 2024, entitled “3D PRINTING USING ALD-COATED POWDERALD”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This technology relates to a manufacturing process for producing semiconductor chamber devices. More specifically, this technology relates to the use of multilayer fabrication technology to produce chamber devices. [Previous Technology]

[0003] The realization of integrated circuits benefits from processes that produce complex patterned material layers on the surface of a substrate. Producing patterned material on a substrate requires methods for controlling the formation and removal of exposed material. Deposition and removal operations can be incorporated into the production of local plasmas in the processing area of ​​a semiconductor processing chamber, for example, between a nozzle or gas distributor and a substrate support. The components in the semiconductor processing chamber can be or contain sintered composite materials. When sintered composite materials are repeatedly exposed to corrosive species, component degradation and contamination of the processed substrate can occur. Therefore, a top coating can be provided to protect the underlying components from corrosion. However, the top coating may eventually be depleted and require replacement.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and system components for the production of high-quality devices and structures. This technology addresses these and other needs. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] Exemplary methods for forming sintered semiconductor chamber devices may include applying a binder solution and a coating powder to a printing bed to form a body of the semiconductor device. The coating powder may include a core, which may comprise one or both of ceramic and metal. The coating powder may include an anti-corrosion coating disposed around the core. These methods may include sintering the body of the semiconductor device to form the semiconductor device from the coating powder.

[0006] In some embodiments, the binder solution and coating powder may be premixed and applied to the print bed in a single stage. Applying the binder solution and coating powder to the print bed may include applying the coating powder to the print bed and using a nozzle of a 3D printer to apply the binder solution onto the coating powder to form the body of a semiconductor device. The binder solution may contain at least one of the following: carbohydrates, phosphoric acid, polymers, colloidal silicon dioxide, or acrylic acid. The core may include at least one of the following: alumina (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), aluminum, magnesium, titanium, yttrium, aluminum-magnesium alloys, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, nickel, or stainless steel. The anti-corrosion coating may contain one or more of the following: oxides, nitrides, nitrogen oxides, fluorides, fluorine oxides, metals, or carbides. These oxides, nitrides, nitrogen oxides, fluorides, fluorine oxides, metals, or carbides may include one or more of the following: aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO₂), erbium oxide (Er₂O₃), lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), and zirconium oxide (ZrO₂). O2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium nitride (ZrN), aluminum oxyfluoride (AlOF), yttrium oxyfluoride (YOF), aluminum fluoride (AlF3), yttrium fluoride (YF3), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), magnesium oxyfluoride (MgOF), erbium oxyfluoride (ErOF), scandium fluoride (ScF3), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), yttrium (Y), or magnesium (Mg).

[0007] Certain embodiments of this technology may include a method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element, the method comprising applying ink to a print bed to form a body of the semiconductor element. The ink may contain a binder solution. The ink may contain a coating powder. The coating powder may contain a core, which may contain one or both of ceramic and metal. The coating powder may have an anti-corrosion coating disposed around the core. These methods may include sintering the body of the semiconductor element to form the semiconductor element from the coating powder.

[0008] In some embodiments, these methods may include mixing a binder solution and a coating powder to form an ink before applying the ink to a print bed. These methods may include drying the ink before applying it to a print bed. Applying the ink may include distributing the ink in a dry form onto the print bed and applying a liquid-based printing solution using a jet head. The printing solution may be applied in the shape of a body of a semiconductor element. The core may comprise at least one of the following: aluminum oxide (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), aluminum, magnesium, titanium, yttrium, aluminum-magnesium alloys, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, nickel, or stainless steel. The anti-corrosion coating may comprise one or more of the following: oxides, nitrides, oxynitrides, fluorides, fluorine oxides, metals, or carbides. These oxides, nitrides, nitrogen oxides, fluorides, fluorine oxides, metals, or carbides may include one or more of the following: aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO₂), erbium oxide (Er₂O₃), lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), and zirconium oxide (ZrO₂). The semiconductor device may include caps, nozzles, panels, gas distribution plates, heaters, screws, substrate supports, support platforms, gaskets, edge rings, process kit rings, or lifting pins. It may also include caps, nozzles, panels, gas distribution plates, heaters, screws, substrate supports, support platforms, gaskets, edge rings, process kit rings, or lifting pins.

[0009] Certain embodiments of this technology may include a method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element, the method comprising applying a coating powder to a print bed of a 3D printer. The coating powder may comprise a core, which may comprise one or both of ceramic and metal. The coating powder may have an anti-corrosion coating disposed around the core. These methods may include applying a binder solution to the coating powder using a nozzle of a 3D printer to form a body of a semiconductor element. These methods may include sintering the body of the semiconductor element to form a semiconductor element from the coating powder.

[0010] In some embodiments, the semiconductor element may comprise a ceramic master phase defining a plurality of grain boundaries and a secondary corrosion-resistant phase defined by the plurality of grain boundaries. The binder solution may comprise a liquid-based printing solution. The core may comprise at least one of the following: alumina (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), aluminum, magnesium, titanium, yttrium, aluminum-magnesium alloy, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, nickel, or stainless steel. The corrosion-resistant coating may comprise one or more of the following: oxides, nitrides, oxynitrides, fluorides, fluorine oxides, metals, or carbides. These oxides, nitrides, nitrogen oxides, fluorides, fluorine oxides, metals, or carbides may include one or more of the following: aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO₂), erbium oxide (Er₂O₃), lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), and zirconium oxide (ZrO₂). O2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium nitride (ZrN), aluminum oxyfluoride (AlOF), yttrium oxyfluoride (YOF), aluminum fluoride (AlF3), yttrium fluoride (YF3), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), magnesium oxyfluoride (MgOF), erbium oxyfluoride (ErOF), scandium fluoride (ScF3), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), yttrium (Y), or magnesium (Mg). The anti-corrosion coating may include a first coating layer. Ceramic-containing powders may include a second coating layer.

[0011] Such technologies can offer numerous advantages over conventional systems and techniques. For example, these methods and systems can provide coated powders, sintered mixtures, and sintered materials, thereby exhibiting improved compatibility with plasma processing applications. For instance, powders can be chemically reduced to remove passivation layers on powder particles. In this way, material layers can be directly coated onto the powder, for example, through atomic layer deposition. Chamber elements can be formed using a 3D-printed green body coated with powder, which can improve the adhesion of the coated powder and improve the grain structure of the resulting element. Furthermore, by sintering the 3D-printed bodies formed from one or more coated powders, the sintered mixture can allow the formation of sintered materials with specific thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties. Thus, the sintered material can exhibit improved thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties at high temperatures, including the temperatures during semiconductor processing operations. These and other embodiments, along with their many advantages and features, will be described in more detail in the following description and figures.

Implementation Method

[0020] As part of semiconductor processing technology, deposition and removal operations may be included in the production of local plasma within the processing area of ​​a semiconductor processing chamber, for example, between a nozzle or gas distributor and a substrate support. The components of the semiconductor processing chamber may be or contain sintered composite materials. To protect the sintered composite material during plasma-based operations, a top coating may be provided to protect the underlying sintered composite material. The top coating may be a combination of materials, such as metal oxides. A first metal oxide may be deposited on the sintered composite material to promote adhesion between the sintered composite material and a corrosion-resistant second metal oxide. However, the top coating may be prone to degradation and / or deterioration during plasma-based operations. Ultimately, the top coating may be depleted, and the plasma may corrode the sintered composite material.

[0021] Conventional techniques address this limitation by controlling plasma operating conditions, such as operating pressure, plasma power, duty cycle, or pulse frequency, which may restrict the operating range. Alternatively, conventional techniques may involve intermittently replacing the top coating to maintain corrosion protection, requiring maintenance intervals during processing. This technology overcomes these limitations by implementing improved deposition methods to remove the native passivation layer on the powder particles, which may allow material deposition directly onto the powder particles, such as through atomic layer deposition. Furthermore, by sintering or pressing the coated powder, the distribution of the corrosion-resistant material can be uniformly distributed within the sintered element, thereby reducing the corrosion potential of the sintered element and extending its lifespan, while reducing maintenance intervals. This enables the preparation of coated powders to manufacture a variety of improved sintered elements, including, but not limited to, plasma-processed chamber elements exhibiting improved thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties under conditions suitable for semiconductor processing. However, conventional sintering methods may not achieve the required density and quality of these coated powders and may not adequately adhere the coated powder particles to each other. Therefore, additive manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing, can be used to form the green body of chamber components prior to the sintering process. Such processes can provide better adhesion, density, and distribution of the coated powder prior to sintering, and can result in higher quality chamber components that are resistant to handling chemicals. Thus, the sintering portion can be carried out within a semiconductor processing chamber exposed to plasma operations.

[0022] After describing the general state of a chamber in which plasma processing can be performed according to embodiments of the present technology, specific methodologies and component configurations may be discussed. It must be understood that the present technology is not intended to be limited to the specific membranes and processes discussed, as the described techniques can be used to improve a variety of membrane formation processes and can be applied to a variety of processing chambers and operations.

[0023] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing chamber 100 according to certain embodiments of the present technology. This figure may illustrate an overview of one or more forms of systems incorporated into the present technology, and / or one or more operations performed according to embodiments of the present technology. Additional details of the chamber 100 or the performed methods may be further described below. The chamber 100 may be used to form coated powders according to certain embodiments of the present technology, although it must be understood that these methods can also be performed in any chamber where film formation can be carried out. For example, although the chamber 100 is illustrated in a horizontally rotated configuration, alternative embodiments may include a fluidized bed configuration or a plasma powder synthesis system. The processing chamber 100 may include a chamber body 102, a plasma system 104 located within the chamber body 102, a temperature control system 106, and a distal plasma system 108 coupled to the chamber body 102 and configured to provide plasma effluent to a processing area 120 of the chamber body 102.

[0024] The powder can be supplied to the processing zone 120 via a material feed conduit, such as a port or conduit, which can be sealed with a slit valve, gate valve, or valve for processing. During processing, the powder can be mechanically mixed. For this purpose, the processing zone 120 or chamber body 102 can be rotatable about an axis 147, as indicated by arrow 145, for example, by means of an electromechanical rotating element 149. The electromechanical rotating element 149 can be configured to rotate one or more structures inside the chamber body 102, for example, by rotating the chamber body 102 about an axis 147. Alternatively, the powder can be mixed and suspended in the processing zone 120 by the convection of gases introduced during the deposition process, for example, by fluidization that can be controlled to limit ingress and powder loss.

[0025] As described below, the precursor can be supplied to the chamber 100 via the gas supply system 110. Although Figure 1 illustrates a single inlet of the gas supply system 110, the chamber 100 may include multiple gas inlets coupled to the chamber body 102 at one or more locations. For example, the plasma precursor may be introduced into the chamber body via a distal plasma system 108, while a second gas inlet may provide gases that would negatively impact the deposition process due to plasma dissociation. The gases may be removed from the chamber body 102 via a gas removal system 112. The gas removal system 112 may include a vacuum system configured to facilitate low-pressure operation during the deposition process and evacuate the chamber to remove process effluents and unreacted process gases. Measurement and control systems may be coupled to the chamber to measure operating pressures at one or more locations, such as in the gas supply system 110, the gas removal system 112, or the processing area 120. In another example, the temperature control system 106 may include temperature sensors and heating elements configured to provide heat to or remove heat from the processing region 120. In this way, the chamber 100 can implement controlled deposition and removal processes, such as plasma etching and removal, as well as atomic layer deposition.

[0026] According to the method described below, as part of performing a plasma treatment of powder in chamber 100, plasma system 104 can be configured to form plasma within processing region 120. Plasma system 104 may be or include an indirect plasma system, such as RF capacitively coupled plasma, configured to form plasma within processing region 120 by generating a sufficiently strong electric field within chamber body 102. In some embodiments, plasma system 104 may be or include a direct plasma system, such that one or more electrode surfaces are disposed within chamber body. In this way, processing region 120 can be defined between the live electrode and reference ground electrode of plasma system 104. Plasma system 104 may also include a control system and a power supply system, such as impedance matching circuitry and a 13.56 MHz RF power supply.

[0027] Similarly, the remote plasma system 108 may be or include a direct plasma system or an indirect plasma system, such as an inductively coupled RF plasma system or a capacitively coupled RF plasma system, which may be configured to decompose the precursor into plasma effluents available to the processing area 120. For example, the gas supply system 110 may include a quartz inlet tube coupling the feed line to the chamber body 102. In such an arrangement, the remote plasma system 108 may be or include a CIP or CCP system located outside the quartz inlet tube and configured to form plasma within the quartz inlet tube. As further illustrated with reference to FIG2, the precursor may include an inert carrier gas and may be or include a reactive precursor that is vapor or gas. In this way, the remote plasma system 108 may form indirect plasma in the precursor and decompose the precursor. The decomposed precursor may be or include plasma effluents, which may be or include the carrier gas, unreacted precursor, and plasma-generated species. The species generated by plasma can serve as reactants in the chemical reactions that mediate deposition processes (e.g., atomic layer deposition). Like plasma system 104, remote plasma system 108 may also include control and power systems, such as impedance matching circuitry and a 13.56 MHz RF power supply.

[0028] The temperature control system 106 can be configured to maintain an internal temperature within the processing area according to the processing method. For example, as part of atomic layer deposition, the deposition substrate (such as powder) can be heated to a reaction temperature at which specific reaction products are advantageous. In an illustrative example, the surface reaction forming a material layer on the deposition substrate can be thermodynamically advantageous at a higher temperature. Therefore, the temperature control system 106 can provide heat to the processing area. In some embodiments, the temperature control system can be at least partially integrated into the plasma system 104. For example, the electrodes of the plasma system 104 can be incorporated into heating and / or cooling elements, thereby allowing the plasma system to operate within an operating temperature range.

[0029] In some embodiments, chamber 100 may be configured to prepare a coating powder, wherein the powder particles are coated with one or more material layers. As described below with reference to methods and systems, chamber 100 may allow the preparation of improved ceramic-coated powders, which may be incorporated into sintering mixtures and sintering materials. Such sintering materials may exhibit improved thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties under processing conditions that have the characteristics of plasma deposition and removal operations as part of semiconductor processing.

[0030] Figure 2 illustrates exemplary operation in a deposition method 200 according to certain embodiments of the present technology. The method can be performed in various processing chambers, including the processing chamber 100 described above. Method 200 may include a number of optional operations, which may or may not be specifically associated with certain embodiments of the method of the present technology. For example, many of the operations are described to provide a broader range of structure formations, but may not be critical to the technology, or may be performed using alternative methodologies, which will be readily understood.

[0031] Method 200 describes the operations schematically shown in FIG3, which will be described together with the operations of Method 200. FIG4 illustrates an exemplary semiconductor processing system incorporating materials produced according to certain embodiments of Method 200. It should be understood that FIG3 and FIG4 only illustrate partial schematic diagrams, and the processing system may include the subsystems illustrated in the figures, as well as alternative subsystems of any size or configuration that may still benefit from the nature of the present technology.

[0032] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of powder 300 during operation of a deposition method 200 according to certain embodiments of the present technology. In some embodiments, method 200 may include one or more operations prior to the operation shown in Figure 2. For example, one or more processes may be performed to form powder 300 from a raw material. For example, powder 300 may be formed by chemically converting an oxide into a nitride and may be cleaned by, for example, baking, etching, or degreasing. Examples of nitride synthesis may include, but are not limited to, carbothermal nitriding and / or direct nitriding. Furthermore, powder 300 may be introduced into a processing chamber, such as chamber 100, and carry a passivation layer 305. For example, powder 300 may be or contain aluminum nitride, which may form an oxide passivation layer by exposure to oxygen during cleaning or exposure to air under ambient conditions.

[0033] Method 200 may include additional operations prior to initiating the listed operations. For example, the additional processing operations may include preparing particles, for example, by ball milling a material feedstock to prepare a powder of a specific size. As shown in Figure 3, method 200 may include removing a passivation layer, such as a native oxide or surface oxide, before coating the particles. Removing the passivation layer may include supplying hydrogen to the processing area of ​​the chamber. Hydrogen may allow the formation of a hydrogen plasma, a hydrogen-rich plasma, or a trace hydrogen plasma in the processing area as a method of chemically reducing the passivation layer 305. Hydrogen may be supplied to the processing area of ​​the chamber along with an inert carrier gas. In a plasma system, the inert carrier gas, also known as the "forming gas," helps in plasma ignition and control of plasma conditions. For example, supplying hydrogen with a specific inert gas fraction may allow the plasma to operate under controlled plasma conditions, such as ionization fraction, ion temperature, or electron temperature. After subsequently introducing hydrogen into the processing area, method 200 may include initiating the plasma in the processing area. The plasma can be or contains hydrogen plasma, and therefore can contain energetic plasma species such as hydrogen ions, hydrogen radicals, or metastable diatomic hydrogen. Hydrogen plasma can be formed within the processing area when powder 300 is suspended in or passes through the processing area. Plasma processing can be based on the supply of hydrogen via a carrier gas, such as argon or helium, to generate plasma, and hydrogen can constitute a percentage of the material in the gas mixture.

[0034] In operation 205, method 200 may include conveying powder to a processing area of ​​a processing chamber, such as processing chamber 100 described above, or other chambers that may contain the elements described above. Powder 300 may comprise a plurality of individual particles. The particles constituting powder 300 may be any type of particle, and in embodiments may be ceramic-containing powders. For example, the particles of powder 300 may be or contain, but are not limited to, alumina (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), or silicon nitride (Si3N4), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the particles constituting powder 300 may be metal-containing powders. For example, the particles of powder 300 may be or contain, but are not limited to, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, yttrium, aluminum-magnesium alloys, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, nickel, and / or stainless steel.

[0035] During method 200, the powder may be suspended within the processing area. As described with reference to FIG1, the suspended powder 300 may comprise a chamber body of a rotary deposition system, such as chamber body 102 in FIG1, to allow the powder 300 to repeatedly pass through the processing area. In some cases, the powder 300 may be suspended by a controlled airflow to form a fluidized bed.

[0036] In some embodiments, method 200 may optionally include oxidizing powder 300 in optional operation 210. Optional operation 210 may include introducing oxygen into the processing region of the chamber. Introducing oxygen into the processing region as part of plasma-enhanced deposition can allow the formation of a controlled oxide layer on powder 300. Compared to passivation layer 305, the controlled oxide layer can be formed under controlled conditions, such as in an oxygen plasma in the processing region, thereby allowing the oxide layer to form on powder 300 with a characteristic and uniform thickness. Additionally or alternatively, optional operation 210 may include thermal oxidation of powder 300 after removal of passivation film 305. The surface oxide layer can impart improved control over the thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties of the sintered material formed using powder 300, for example, by acting as a diffusion barrier or by defining grain boundaries in the sintered material. In this way, it is advantageous to reduce powder 300 to remove passivation layer 305, and then oxidize powder 300 under controlled conditions to reform the oxide layer.

[0037] In optional operation 210, the powder 300 is subsequently oxidized, and method 200 may include forming a material layer 315 on the powder 300 in operation 215. In some embodiments, forming the material layer 315 on the powder 300 may include performing an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process to uniformly coat the particles of the powder 300. For example, operation 215 may include introducing a plasma effluent into the processing area. The plasma effluent may be or contain plasma-generating species formed by a remote plasma system (such as the remote plasma system 108 of FIG. 1) and in communication with the processing area. Introducing the plasma effluent may include introducing a carrier gas containing the plasma effluent. In this way, introducing the plasma effluent into the processing area exposes the powder 300 to a plasma effluent that has already been decomposed by plasma. Thus, the plasma effluent may be or contain ions, activated free radicals, metastable species, and other decomposition products, and is characterized by having an average energy distribution lower than that of a direct plasma system. Exposing powder 300 to plasma effluent can lead to the formation of an adsorbed monolayer of plasma effluent on the surface of the powder 300 particles, which serves as a precursor for the formation of material layer 315.

[0038] In the second operation of atomic layer deposition, the plasma effluent of the first precursor can be removed from the processing area by a purification gas treatment zone, while retaining the powder 300 carrying the adsorbed monolayer. The purification treatment zone can be implemented using a gas removal system, such as the gas removal system 112 of FIG. 1. After purification, the second precursor can be decomposed into a second plasma effluent, exposing the powder 300 to the second plasma effluent. The second precursor can be selected to decompose into plasma-generated species, which react with the monolayer adsorbed on the powder 300 to form a material layer 315. After the material layer 315 is formed, unreacted plasma effluent and reaction byproducts can be removed by the gas removal system.

[0039] In some embodiments, the first and second precursors may be selected such that the material layer 315 may be or contain corrosion-resistant additives to improve the mechanical properties of the sintered material formed through the sintered powder 300. In this way, one precursor may be or contain a metal, while the other precursor may be or contain oxygen or nitrogen. The metal may be or contain, for example, rare earth elements or transition metals. For example, one of the precursors may contain metals such as aluminum, yttrium, magnesium, titanium, yttrium, gallium, scandium, or zirconium. The other precursor may contain an oxygen or nitrogen source and may be, for example, water vapor (H2O), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), oxygen (O2), oxygen-based plasma, ozone (O3), nitrous oxide (N2O), molecular nitrogen (N2), ammonia (NH3), hydrazine (N2H4), or nitrogen-based plasma. Depending on the precursor used, the material layer 315 may be an oxide, nitride, oxynitride, fluoride, carbide, fluoride, metal, and / or a combination thereof. For example, material layer 315 may be or include, but is not limited to, aluminum oxide (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), erbium oxide (Er2O3), lanthanum oxide (La2O3), scandium oxide (Sc2O3), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium nitride (ZrN), aluminum fluoride (AlOF), yttrium fluoride (YOF), aluminum fluoride (AlF3), yttrium fluoride (YF3), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), magnesium fluoride (MgOF), erbium fluoride (ErOF), scandium fluoride (ScF3), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), yttrium (Y), and / or magnesium (Mg). In embodiments, material layer 315 may comprise a variety of different oxide or nitride materials. For example, a multilayer material may be formed on powder 300. Material layer 315 may comprise the same or different materials as the ceramic-containing powder. In some embodiments, such as when powder 300 is metal and material layer 315 is metal, material layer 315 may be formed into an alloy at the nanometer / micrometer scale.

[0040] In some embodiments, the first or second precursor may contain fluorine or other low-melting-point materials. For example, fluorine-containing precursors may include, but are not limited to, aluminum fluoride (AlF3), yttrium fluoride (YF3), magnesium (MgF2), titanium (TiF4), rubidium (ErF3), cerium (LaF3), scandium (ScF3), or zirconium (ZrF4). As discussed below, powder 300 may be sintered to form a device for semiconductor processing. The use of fluorine in powder 300 can improve the efficiency of sintering powder 300 due to the low melting point of fluorine present in material layer 315.

[0041] In some embodiments, the compositional operations of operation 215 can be repeated to deposit multiple monolayers, such that material layer 315 can be formed in a monolayer-by-monolayer manner, and the thickness of material layer 315 can be an integer multiple of the monolayer thickness and the number of repetitions of operation 215. Furthermore, after operation 215, a second material layer 320 can be formed on material layer 315 by repeating the operation with the same set of first and second precursors or different sets of first and second precursors. For example, when material layer 315 can be or contains alumina, the second material 320 can be or contains different oxides, such as yttrium oxide, magnesium oxide, aluminum nitride, or other metal oxides or metal nitrides. Therefore, the coating powder formed from powder 300 by method 200 can contain a controlled oxide layer, material layer 315, and one or more additional layers of different materials, such as the second material layer 320.

[0042] The flow rate of the precursor introduced into the chamber may depend at least in part on one or more parameters of the chamber, powder 300, or method 200. For example, the flow rate may be such that the plasma can form with sufficient energy density or species density (such as ions, free electrons, or activated precursors) to promote, for example, the reduction of passivation layer 305 or the deposition of material layer 315. In contrast, the flow rate of the precursor may be limited by the inflow of powder 300, which can occur if the flow rate is too high. In such cases, the precursor may infiltrate powder 300 and carry it out of the processing area, which is to be avoided.

[0043] The pulse size of the first or second precursor can be less than or about 75 minutes, depending on the flow rate of the precursor. Within 75 minutes, the powder 300 can become completely saturated and no longer accepts precursors to form a monolayer material. Therefore, the pulse size of the first or second precursor can be less than or about 70 minutes, less than or about 65 minutes, less than or about 60 minutes, less than or about 55 minutes, less than or about 50 minutes, less than or about 45 minutes, less than or about 40 minutes, less than or about 35 minutes, less than or about 30 minutes, less than or about 25 minutes, less than or about 20 minutes, less than or about 15 minutes, less than or about 10 minutes, less than or about 5 minutes, less than or about 2 minutes, less than or about 1 minute, or less.

[0044] Similarly, the pulse time for purifying the first precursor with the purifying gas can be less than or about 120 minutes, such as less than or about 110 minutes, less than or about 100 minutes, less than or about 90 minutes, less than or about 80 minutes, less than or about 70 minutes, less than or about 65 minutes, less than or about 60 minutes, less than or about 55 minutes, less than or about 50 minutes, less than or about 45 minutes, less than or about 40 minutes, less than or about 35 minutes, less than or about 30 minutes, less than or about 25 minutes, less than or about 20 minutes, less than or about 15 minutes, less than or about 10 minutes, less than or about 5 minutes, less than or about 2 minutes, less than or about 1 minute or less. Purification can have a duration longer than that of the precursor to ensure that the precursor is completely removed from the treatment area.

[0045] During method 200, such as during operation 215, the temperature within the processing chamber can be maintained at or below 700°C. While higher temperatures may be used, ALD deposition can be operated at temperatures below or below 700°C, such as below or below 675°C, below or below 650°C, below or below 625°C, below or below 600°C, below or below 575°C, below or below 550°C, below or below 525°C, below or below 500°C, below or below 480°C, below or below 460°C, below or below 440°C, below or below 420°C, below or below 400°C, and below or below 380°C. Below or about 360°C, below or about 340°C, below or about 320°C, below or about 300°C, below or about 280°C, below or about 260°C, below or about 240°C, below or about 220°C, below or about 200°C, below or about 180°C, below or about 160°C, below or about 140°C, below or about 120°C, below or about 100°C, below or about 80°C, below or about 60°C, below or about 40°C, below or about 20°C, or lower.

[0046] Furthermore, during method 200, such as during operation 215, the pressure within the processing chamber can be maintained at less than or about 50 mTorr. Similarly, although higher pressures can be used, ALD deposition can be operated at pressures less than or about 50 mTorr, such as less than or about 45 mTorr, less than or about 40 mTorr, less than or about 35 mTorr, less than or about 30 mTorr, less than or about 25 mTorr, less than or about 20 mTorr, less than or about 15 mTorr, less than or about 10 mTorr, less than or about 7 mTorr, less than or about 5 mTorr, less than or about 3 mTorr, less than or about 1 mTorr, or less.

[0047] The material layer 315 may be formed with a thickness of less than or about 3000 nm, such as less than or about 2750 nm, less than or about 2500 nm, less than or about 2250 nm, less than or about 2000 nm, less than or about 1750 nm, less than or about 1500 nm, less than or about 1250 nm, less than or about 1000 nm, less than or about 750 nm, less than or about 500 nm, less than or about 250 nm, less than or about 100 nm, or smaller. In embodiments, depending on the application, the material layer 315 may be formed with an even smaller thickness, such as less than or about 90 nm, less than or about 80 nm, less than or about 70 nm, less than or about 60 nm, less than or about 50 nm, less than or about 40 nm, less than or about 30 nm, less than or about 20 nm, less than or about 10 nm, less than or about 5 nm, less than or about 2 nm, less than or about 1 nm, or smaller. When the thickness is greater than 3000 nm, the sintering of the powder 300 may become more difficult due to the presence of additional material between the powders 300.

[0048] In optional operation 220, method 200 may include annealing the powder 300. Annealing the powder 300 in optional operation 220 may alter the crystallinity of the material layer 315, or may further enhance the thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties of the material layer 315. For example, the material layer 315 may be formed into an amorphous structure, but annealing in optional operation 220 may cause the material layer 315 to transform into a crystalline structure. The powder 300 may be annealed in an oxygen-containing environment, an inert environment, or an active gas environment. In some embodiments, the active gas environment may include, but is not limited to, a fluorine-containing environment. The fluorine-containing environment may include, but is not limited to, diatomic fluorine (F2). In an embodiment, powder 300 may be annealed at a temperature above or about 300°C, such as above or about 350°C, above or about 400°C, above or about 450°C, above or about 500°C, above or about 550°C, above or about 600°C, above or about 650°C, above or about 700°C, or higher, which may be higher than the temperature in operation 215. During optional operation 220, pressure may be controlled, and pressure may be maintained above, below, or about atmospheric pressure.

[0049] Method 200 and its constituent operations can provide one or more improvements to the plasma-enhanced deposition process for depositing material layers on powder via ALD. For example, method 200 can provide a coated powder with a core-shell structure, wherein the core can be or contains a ceramic material, such as aluminum nitride or any other ceramic material, and has one or more shells, such as transition metal oxides or rare earth oxides. Due to the layer-by-layer deposition of the atomic layer deposition method, these shells can be precisely deposited, and thus the relative composition of the coated powder can be specified by repeating operation 215 a predetermined number of times. Furthermore, by removing the native passivation layer 305 via plasma, the control of surface chemistry can be improved, and thus the thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties of the sintered material formed using the coated powder can be improved.

[0050] As described below, coating powders can be prepared to provide improved thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties to materials formed by sintering or pressing the coating powders. To this end, method 200 can be implemented to prepare multiple coating powders for combination into a sintering mixture. For example, the first coating powder may be or contain aluminum nitride powder coated with a layer of yttrium oxide. The second coating powder may be or contain aluminum nitride powder coated with a layer of titanium dioxide. The sintering mixture is then prepared by mixing the first and second coating powders, such that the sintered material formed using the sintering mixture can have improved thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties, partly due to improved control of the relative composition of the coating material and partly due to improved distribution of the coating material in the sintering mixture. The improved distribution of the coating material is particularly significant relative to bulk powder mixtures that may undergo agglomeration or density stratification, phenomena that could limit the effectiveness of mixing and negatively impact the material properties of the sintered material.

[0051] In optional operation 225, method 200 may include sintering powder 300 or a sintering mixture to form a semiconductor-processed element. As will be further described below with respect to FIG4, the semiconductor-processed element may be, but is not limited to, caps, nozzles, panels, gas distribution plates, heaters, screws, substrate supports, support platforms, gaskets, edge rings, process kit rings, or lifting pins. These elements are typically exposed to corrosive plasma environments and may require anti-corrosion coatings. By using the coating powders discussed earlier, anti-corrosion materials can be incorporated into the semiconductor-processed element, thus providing enhanced corrosion resistance.

[0052] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary plasma processing system comprising one or more elements formed according to certain embodiments of the present technology. Figure 4 further illustrates details related to the semiconductor processing system 400, including one or more elements that may be incorporated into the system 400, which may be or contain sintered materials. The sintered material may then be formed by sintering a coating powder, such as the coating powder prepared by method 200. It should be understood that the system 400 may include any features or configuration of a semiconductor processing chamber and may be used to perform semiconductor processing operations including deposition, removal, and cleaning operations. The system 400 may show partial views of the chamber elements under discussion and may be incorporated into a typical semiconductor processing system, and may be shown as a view across the center of the base and gas distribution disk, these elements being of any size. Any configuration of the system 400 may also be combined with other processing chambers or systems, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0053] System 400 may include a semiconductor processing chamber 450 containing a nozzle 405 through which a precursor 407 can be delivered for processing, and may be configured to form plasma 410 in a processing area between the nozzle 405 and a base or substrate support 415. The nozzle 405 is shown as being at least partially located inside the chamber 450 and is understood to be electrically isolated from the chamber 450. In this way, the nozzle 405 may serve as a live electrode or reference ground electrode for a DC plasma system, exposing the substrate to plasma-generating species held on the substrate support 415. The substrate support 415 may extend through the bottom of the chamber 450. The substrate support 415 may include a support platform 420 that can hold the semiconductor substrate 430 during deposition or removal processes for forming patterned structures on the semiconductor substrate 430. In some embodiments, the substrate support 415 may be or form the body or part of an electrostatic chuck.

[0054] The support platform 420 may be or comprise a sintered material formed from a coated powder prepared according to an embodiment of method 200. The support platform 420 may incorporate embedded electrodes to provide an electrostatic field for holding the semiconductor substrate and may also include a thermal control system that facilitates processing operations including, but not limited to, deposition, etching, annealing, or desorption. In some embodiments, the support platform 420 may be incorporated into a plate, a perforated plate, a mesh, a sieve, or any other distributed arrangement of conductive elements. The embedded electrodes may be or comprise tuning electrodes to provide further control over the plasma 410, for example, by adjusting the electric field near the surface of the support platform. Similarly, bias electrodes and / or electrostatic adsorption electrodes may be coupled to the support platform 420. The bias electrodes may be coupled to a power source, such as a DC power source, a pulsed DC power source, an RF bias power source, a pulsed RF source, or a bias power source, or a combination of these or other power sources. In this way, the substrate support 415 and the support platform 420 can not only be used to hold the semiconductor substrate 430 during plasma processing operations, but also to tune the conditions of the plasma 410. Tuning the plasma conditions may include achieving automatic impedance matching to maintain plasma conditions during plasma processing operations, for example, when the composition of the plasma 410 changes or the surface of the semiconductor substrate 430 changes, for example, due to the deposition of a dielectric film on the electrode surface. In this way, precise control of the plasma 410 can depend on the material properties of the substrate support 415 and the support platform 420.

[0055] In some cases, the support platform 420 or other chamber elements can be formed from sintered materials. For example, powder can be pressed into a mold and heated until the powder particles melt into a sintered material. As will be described in more detail below, additive manufacturing techniques can be used to form the body of the chamber element, such as a green body, prior to the sintering process. Subsequent operations, such as annealing, machining, incorporation of electrical components, and application of a protective surface coating, can be applied to finish the element, thereby providing a working element that can be incorporated into a plasma system. One advantage of using sintered materials can be that the finished element can serve as a refractory conductor, exhibiting good heat distortion properties and chemical resistance to plasma etching, as well as electrical conductivity.

[0056] Advantageously, as described with reference to FIG. 2, the sintered material formed from the coated powder prepared according to the operation of method 200 can exhibit improved thermal, mechanical, and / or chemical properties at the temperatures employed in the plasma processing operation. For example, where it is known that sintered materials can be formed from a powder mixture containing ceramics, the introduction of metal oxides or rare earth oxides for corrosion protection can be formed on the surface of the sintered material. In this way, the resulting sintered material can contain an anti-corrosion coating, which can exist only on the surface of the sintered material. Over time and during semiconductor processing, the anti-corrosion coating may deteriorate and may eventually expose the underlying sintered material. For example, a portion of the anti-corrosion coating at one location on the sintered element may deteriorate and be completely removed, while other locations of the anti-corrosion coating may be relatively unaffected. However, the plasma environment may attack the uncoated portions of the sintered element and corrode the sintered element. This corrosion may damage the sintered element and introduce contaminants into the processing area.

[0057] In contrast, sintering a coated powder having one or more shells formed according to the operation of method 200, as described with reference to FIG. 3, can result in an improved microstructure 460. By using the coated powder to form a sintered material, the core-shell structure can be used to control the distribution of the anti-corrosion coating. The controlled distribution can then limit the migration of the anti-corrosion coating during sintering, and two main phases can be produced in the microstructure 460. The microstructure 460 may include a main phase 470 and a secondary phase 480, but may be substantially free of conductive particle inclusions. For example, the main phase 470 may define a three-dimensional grain boundary network, while the secondary phase 480 may be confined within the grain boundaries. The main phase 470 may be or include a ceramic material, such as the material shown in powder 300 of FIG. 3. The secondary phase 480 may be or include a material layer formed in operation 215 of FIG. 2, which reacts with the material of the powder core to form a material layer, such as material layer 315 of FIG. 3. For example, in the case where the core of the coated powder is aluminum nitride and the shell contains zirconium oxide, the secondary phase 480 may be or may contain yttrium aluminum oxide.

[0058] Advantageously, when the microstructure 460 confines the secondary phase 480 to the grain boundaries between the grains of the primary phase 470, the sintered material can contain the secondary phase 480 throughout the sintered material, which can be a semiconductor processing element, such as the previously described support platform 420, or other elements such as caps, nozzles, panels, gas distribution plates, heaters, screws, substrate supports, gaskets, edge rings, process kit rings, or lifting pins. In this way, the secondary phase 480 can be uniformly distributed in the sintered material. Therefore, the secondary phase 480, such as a corrosion-resistant material, can exist inside and around the sintered material. Thus, the enhanced corrosion resistance through the incorporation of a corrosion-resistant material may be improved compared to the conventional technique of coating sintered elements with a corrosion-resistant material.

[0059] Advantageously, forming sintered materials from coated powders allows for precise control over the composition of the sintered material. In materials formed by sintering a mixture of two powders, the composition can depend on precise measurement and handling of the mixture prior to sintering. In contrast, coated powders can be formed with a precise composition, partly due to the precise nature of ALD technology, which forms a single-layer coating material for each deposition cycle. In this way, each particle of the coated powder can contain a precise number of material layers on its surface, thereby providing a sintered material with a controlled composition that can be selected to impart improved thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties to the sintered material.

[0060] As described above, in some embodiments, the semiconductor chamber element can be formed from the powder disclosed herein using a multilayer fabrication technique. Using a multilayer fabrication technique allows the green body of the chamber element to be formed at a higher density and with higher quality than that achievable with conventional sintering techniques. Once the green body of the chamber element has been formed, it can be sintered to increase the density of the ceramic material, remove the printing solution, and form the final element.

[0061] Figure 5 illustrates the operation of an exemplary method 500 for forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element according to certain embodiments of the present technology. The sintered semiconductor chamber element may be a cover, nozzle, panel, gas distribution plate, heater, screw, substrate support, support platform, gasket, edge ring, process kit ring, or lifting pin, such as those described relative to Figure 4, and / or any other element that may form part of a semiconductor processing chamber. The method can be performed in a variety of apparatuses, including 3D printers and / or other multilayer manufacturing apparatuses according to embodiments of the present technology. Method 500 may include a number of optional operations, which may or may not be specifically associated with certain embodiments of the method of the present technology.

[0062] Method 500 may include optional operations prior to initiating method 500, or the method may include additional operations. For example, method 500 may include operations performed in a different order than those shown. In some embodiments, method 500 may include applying ink to a print bed in operation 505 to form a body of a semiconductor element. The body of the semiconductor element may be a green body and may have substantially the same size and shape as the final chamber element produced using method 500. The ink may contain several elements. For example, the ink may contain one or more coating powders. The coating powder may contain a core comprising ceramic and / or metal, and one or more anti-corrosion coating layers disposed around the core. The core may be similar to or the same as powder 300. In some embodiments, the coating powder may contain one or more metals and / or ceramics. For example, the coating powder may be or contain aluminum oxide (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), aluminum, magnesium, titanium, yttrium, aluminum-magnesium alloys, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, nickel, and / or stainless steel. The anti-corrosion coating may be similar to or the same as material layers 315 and / or 320. In some embodiments, the anti-corrosion coating may be or contain oxides, nitrides, fluorides, fluorine oxides, metals, carbides, and / or nitrogen oxides. In certain embodiments, the anti-corrosion coating may comprise aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO₂), erbium oxide (Er₂O₃), lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium nitride (ZrN), aluminum fluoride (AlOF), yttrium fluoride (YOF), aluminum fluoride (AlF₃), yttrium fluoride (YF₃), magnesium fluoride (MgF₂), magnesium fluoride (MgOF), erbium fluoride (ErOF), scandium fluoride (ScF₃), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), yttrium (Y), and / or magnesium (Mg). In some embodiments, the ink may comprise multiple types of coating powders. For example, the first anti-corrosion coating may be or comprise aluminum oxide, while the second anti-corrosion coating may be or comprise different oxides, such as yttrium oxide, magnesium oxide, aluminum nitride, or other metal oxides or metal nitrides. It will be understood that any number of coating powders (possibly along with one or more uncoated powders) can be incorporated into the ink. In some embodiments, each metal and / or ceramic powder incorporated into the ink is coated with an anti-corrosion material. Furthermore, some embodiments may utilize one or more coating powders comprising multiple layers.

[0063] The ink may also contain a binder solution that helps to adhere the coating particles together to form the green body of the chamber element. The binder solution may contain carbohydrates (e.g., dextrin, maltodextrin, starch, etc.), phosphoric acid, polymers (e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, etc.), colloidal silica, or acrylic acid. It should be understood that other binders may be used depending on the composition of the coating powder. In some embodiments, the ink may contain a liquid-based printing solution, such as water or other non-reactive liquid solutions. In other embodiments, the liquid-based printing solution may be a separate element and / or omitted entirely.

[0064] In some embodiments, the ink can be applied in a single stage, such as through the printhead or jet head of a 3D printer. For example, coating powder, binder solution, and / or liquid-based printing solution can be deposited on the print bed of a 3D printer. The ink can be deposited in multiple layers to establish the final size and shape of the final chamber element, wherein the binder solution and / or liquid-based printing solution act to bond the coating powder together in the desired three-dimensional shape, thereby forming the green body of the chamber element.

[0065] In other embodiments, the ink can be applied in multiple stages to form the green body. For example, the coating powder can be applied to the print bed before adding the binder solution and / or liquid-based printing solution. In some embodiments, the coating powder can be applied to the print bed in a general shape and / or size similar to the body of the produced chamber element. The binder solution and / or liquid-based printing solution can then be applied to the coating powder, for example via a 3D printer nozzle or other applicator. Multiple layers can be stacked to form the green body, wherein the binder solution and / or liquid-based printing solution is used to hold the coating powder layers of the green body together.

[0066] In other embodiments, the coating powder may be uniformly dispersed on all or part of the surface of the print bed before the application of the adhesive solution and / or liquid-based printing solution. For example, a thin layer of coating powder may be dispersed across the print bed, the size and / or shape of which differs from the size and shape of the final chamber element. The adhesive solution and / or liquid-based printing solution may be applied using a nozzle or other element, wherein the adhesive solution and / or liquid-based printing solution is applied to the coating powder in a shape and size matching the footprint of a portion of the final chamber element. The portion of the coating powder receiving the adhesive solution and / or liquid-based printing solution may be mixed with the adhesive solution and / or liquid-based printing solution, wherein the adhesive solution and / or liquid-based printing solution is used to adhere the particles of the coating powder to each other to form a layer of the final chamber element. The portion of the applied coating powder that does not receive the adhesive solution and / or liquid-based printing solution may not be mixed with the adhesive solution and / or liquid-based printing solution, or may not form part of the final chamber element. Another layer of coating powder can be applied on top of the print bed, and additional binder solution and / or liquid-based printing solution can be applied to form an additional layer of the chamber element. This can be repeated until a green body with the final chamber element of its complete shape and thickness is defined, which is defined by multiple layers of a mixture of coating powder, binder solution, and / or liquid-based printing solution.

[0067] In other embodiments, the coating powder and binder solution may be premixed and applied to the printing bed before being applied to the printing solution. The coating powder and binder solution may be premixed in a wet or dry form. For example, the binder solution may be provided in a dry form and combined with the coating powder. The binder solution and coating powder may be mixed together, such as using a mill, ball mill, mortar and pestle, and / or other techniques. In other embodiments, the binder solution and coating powder may be premixed in a wet form. For example, the binder solution may be dissolved in a solvent (e.g., water) and combined with the coating powder. This liquid solution may be dried, such as by spray drying or other drying techniques. Regardless of how the binder solution and coating powder are mixed, the dried mixture may then be dispersed on the printing bed, such as forming a thin layer of the mixture. Liquid-based printing solutions may be applied using a jet head or other elements, and liquid-based printing solutions may be applied to the dried mixture in a shape and size that matches the footprint of the portion of the final chamber element. A portion of the dried mixture receiving the liquid-based printing solution may be mixed with the liquid-based printing solution, which is used to bind the powder-coated particles together to form a layer of the final chamber element. A portion of the dried mixture not receiving the liquid-based printing solution may not be mixed with the liquid-based printing solution and may not form part of the final chamber element. Another layer of the dried mixture may be applied on top of the printing bed, and additional liquid-based printing solution may be applied to form additional layers of the chamber element. This can be repeated until a green body with the full shape and thickness of the final chamber element is defined, defined by areas of multiple layers of the mixture of powder, binder solution, and liquid-based printing solution.

[0068] After the green body of the chamber element is formed, method 500 may include curing the green body in operation 510. Curing the green body may include, for example, heating all or part of the green body to a temperature that allows the adhesive solution to be thermally activated by solvent evaporation, polymerization, crosslinking, or other mechanisms to strengthen the green body. The green body may be cured after complete printing and / or may be cured one or more layers at a time. The curing temperature may vary depending on the composition of the adhesive solution, but in some embodiments, it may be between 175°C and 800°C. After curing is complete, the cured chamber element may undergo a debonding process in operation 515 to form a brown chamber element. Debonding may include, for example, applying heat to the cured chamber element to pyrolyze and / or burn off the adhesive. In some embodiments, the cured chamber element may be heated to between about 400°C and 800°C to produce a brown chamber element.

[0069] After forming the green body, curing, and / or debonding the chamber element body, the chamber element body can be sintered in operation 520. Sintering may involve heating the chamber element body to a temperature below the melting point of the coating powder to increase the density of the chamber element. For example, the chamber element body may be heated to a high temperature (typically within the range of 100°C, 75°C, 50°C, 25°C, 10°C, or lower than the melting point of the ceramic material), followed by holding and furnace cooling. The sintering step can increase the density of the part through mass transfer across the boundaries of the ceramic particles. In some embodiments, sintering may be completed after the curing and / or debonding process. In other embodiments, the sintering process may be performed directly on the green body. For example, the heat applied to the green body may remove all, substantially all, or part of the binder solution and / or liquid-based printing solution from the body, in addition to densifying the ceramic material (and the anti-corrosion coating). Such sintering may be performed in a single heat treatment process or in stages. For example, the application of heat during sintering can be adjusted in stages to effectively perform curing, debonding, and densification processes.

[0070] 3D-printed sintered chamber elements can have improved density compared to ceramic elements manufactured using conventional sintering techniques. Furthermore, by forming sintered chamber elements using coated powder as described herein, the grain structure of the sintered chamber elements can be improved. For example, the grain structure of the sintered chamber element can include a ceramic main phase defining a plurality of grain boundaries, and a secondary corrosion-resistant phase confined to these grain boundaries. Such a grain structure ensures that the sintered chamber element is substantially free of conductive grain inclusions. Advantageously, when the microstructure confines the secondary phase to the grain boundaries of the main phase grains, the sintered chamber element can contain the secondary phase throughout the sintered material, ensuring a uniform distribution of the secondary phase within the sintered material. Therefore, the secondary phase can exist both inside and around the sintered material. This can give the sintered chamber element enhanced corrosion resistance compared to conventional corrosion-resistant sintered elements.

[0071] Furthermore, using 3D printing technology to form sintered materials from coated powders allows for precise control over the composition of the sintered material. In materials formed by sintering a mixture of two powders, the composition can depend on the precise measurement and handling of the mixture prior to sintering. In contrast, coated powders can be formed with a precise composition, partly due to the precision of ALD technology, which forms a single-layer coating material for each deposition cycle. In this way, each grain of the coated powder can contain a precise number of material layers on its surface, thereby providing a sintered material with a controlled composition that can be selected to impart improved thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties to the sintered material.

[0072] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the grain structure produced by using powder-coated 3D printing technology can result in a more uniform or homogeneous distribution of the first and second phases in the sintered material. For example, when using conventional 3D printing technology without powder coating, the use of multiple types of powder can lead to uneven distribution of the two powders. For example, some grains of the first powder may only contact other grains of the first powder, while other grains of the first powder may contact grains of the second powder, only grains of the first powder, or grains other than those of the first powder. This may result in a higher concentration of one powder material in certain regions of the sintered material than the other, and may give the final sintered element an irregular grain structure, which in turn negatively affects the thermal conductivity or other properties of the sintered element. In contrast, by using the powder coating described herein, it can be ensured that each primary phase forms a core and can be encased by a shell of secondary phases, and each secondary phase is encased in this way. In other words, between adjacent primary phases, there are two secondary phase boundaries that run through the entire sintered chamber element. A stable grain structure can improve the performance of sintered chamber components, for example, by improving the control of the electrical conductivity and / or thermal conductivity characteristics of the resulting components.

[0073] The use of 3D printing (or other additive manufacturing techniques) can offer further advantages compared to conventional forming and sintering techniques. For example, 3D printing can enable the manufacture of chamber components with geometries that are more complex than conventional machining processes. Internal channels, pores, and / or other areas can be formed without tooling, which helps eliminate seams formed when joining multiple material fragments into a component with internal spaces. Furthermore, 3D printing technology can eliminate and / or reduce the need for certain finishing steps, such as grinding, which may help increase component manufacturing time.

[0074] In the foregoing description, numerous details have been set forth for illustrative purposes to provide a basic understanding of various embodiments of the present technology. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains that certain embodiments may be practiced without some of these details, or with additional details.

[0075] Having disclosed several embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents can be used without departing from the spirit of these embodiments. Furthermore, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the technology, many well-known processes and elements have not been described. Therefore, the above description should not be considered as limiting the scope of the technology.

[0076] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” refer to one or more (i.e., at least one) grammatical objects of the article. For example, “an element” refers to one or more elements. When referring to measurable values, such as quantities, durations, and the like, “about” and / or “approximately” as used herein cover variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, apparatuses, circuits, methods, and other embodiments described herein. When referring to measurable values, such as quantities, durations, physical properties (such as frequency), and the like, “substantially” as used also covers variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, apparatuses, circuits, methods, and other embodiments described herein.

[0077] When a range of values ​​is provided, it should be understood that every value (expressed in the smallest unit fraction) between the upper and lower limits of the range is also specifically disclosed, unless the context explicitly requires otherwise. Any narrower range between any specified or unspecified interventional value, as well as other specified or interventional values ​​within that specified range, are included. The upper and lower limits of these narrower ranges may independently include or exclude them from the range, and each range, whether including, excluding, or simultaneously including any of the limits of these narrower ranges, is also within the scope of this technique, but must comply with any limits explicitly excluded in the specified range. When a specified range includes one or two limits, ranges excluding any or both of these included limits are also included.

[0078] In this specification and in the accompanying claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly requires otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “cut” includes a plurality of such cuts, while a reference to “the flange” includes references to one or more flanges and to their equivalents well known to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, and so on.

[0079] Furthermore, when the words “including,” “comprising,” “containing,” etc. are used in this specification and in subsequent claims, it is intended to specify the presence of the indicated feature, integer, element, or operation, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, elements, operations, behaviors, or groups. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0012] To further understand the nature and advantages of the disclosed technology, please refer to the rest of the specification and the illustrations.

[0013] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing chamber according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0014] Figure 2 shows exemplary operation in a deposition method according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0015] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of powder during operation in a deposition method according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0016] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing chamber element formed by a method according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0017] Figure 5 shows an exemplary operation of a method for forming a semiconductor chamber element according to certain embodiments of the present technology.

[0018] Several illustrations are included in the form of diagrams. It should be understood that these illustrations are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered to be drawn to scale unless specifically indicated as such. Furthermore, these illustrations are provided to aid understanding as illustrative purposes, and may not contain all aspects or information compared to realistic representations, and may contain exaggerated material for illustrative purposes.

[0019] In the accompanying illustrations, similar elements and / or features may have the same element symbol. Furthermore, various elements of the same type can be distinguished by appending letters after the element symbol to differentiate them. If only the first element symbol is used in the specification, the description applies to any similar element having the same first element symbol, regardless of the subsequent letters. [Biomaterial Storage]

[0081] Domestic Storage Information (Please note in order of storage institution, date, and number) None

[0082] Overseas Deposit Information (Please note in the order of deposit country, institution, date, and number) None

Claims

1. A method for forming a sintered semiconductor cavity device, comprising the steps of: applying an adhesive solution and a coating powder to a printing bed to form a body of a semiconductor device, wherein the coating powder comprises: A core comprising one or both of a ceramic and a metal; an anti-corrosion coating disposed around the core; and the body of the semiconductor element sintered to form the semiconductor element from the coated powder.

2. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 1, wherein: The adhesive solution and the coating powder are premixed and applied to the printing bed in a single stage.

3. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 1, wherein: The adhesive solution comprises at least one of the following: a carbohydrate, phosphoric acid, a polymer, colloidal silica, or acrylic acid.

4. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 1, wherein: The core includes at least one of the following: aluminum oxide (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), aluminum, magnesium, titanium, yttrium, an aluminum-magnesium alloy, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, nickel, or stainless steel.

5. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 1, wherein: The anti-corrosion coating includes one or more of an oxide, a nitride, a nitrogen oxide, a fluoride, a fluorine oxide, a metal, or a carbide.

6. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 5, wherein: The oxide, the nitride, the nitrogen oxide, the fluoride, the fluorine oxide, the metal, or the carbide comprises at least one of the following: aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO₂), erbium oxide (Er₂O₃), lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium oxide (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium oxide (AlN), yttrium ... ZrO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium nitride (ZrN), aluminum oxyfluoride (AlOF), yttrium oxyfluoride (YOF), aluminum fluoride (AlF3), yttrium fluoride (YF3), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), magnesium oxyfluoride (MgOF), erbium oxyfluoride (ErOF), scandium fluoride (ScF3), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), yttrium (Y), or magnesium (Mg).

7. A method for forming a sintered semiconductor chamber device, comprising the following steps: An ink is applied to a printing bed to form a body of a semiconductor device, wherein the ink includes: an adhesive solution; and a coating powder including: a core comprising one or both of a ceramic and a metal; and an anti-corrosion coating disposed around the core; and the body of the semiconductor device is sintered to form the semiconductor device from the coating powder.

8. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as claimed in claim 7, further comprising the step of: mixing the adhesive solution and the coating powder to form the ink before applying the ink to the printing bed.

9. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as claimed in claim 8, further comprising the step of: drying the ink before applying it to the print bed.

10. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 7, wherein: Applying the ink to the printing bed includes the following steps: The ink is distributed on the printing bed in a dry form; And using a nozzle to apply a liquid-based printing solution, wherein the printing solution is applied in the shape of the body of the semiconductor element.

11. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 7, wherein: The core comprises at least one of the following: aluminum oxide (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), aluminum, magnesium, titanium, yttrium, an aluminum-magnesium alloy, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, nickel, or stainless steel; and the anti-corrosion coating comprises one or more of an oxide, a nitride, a nitrogen oxide, a fluoride, a fluorine oxide, a metal, or a carbide.

12. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 11, wherein: The oxide, the nitride, the nitrogen oxide, the fluoride, the fluorine oxide, the metal, or the carbide comprises at least one of the following: aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO₂), erbium oxide (Er₂O₃), lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium oxide (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium oxide (AlN), yttrium ... ZrO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium nitride (ZrN), aluminum oxyfluoride (AlOF), yttrium oxyfluoride (YOF), aluminum fluoride (AlF3), yttrium fluoride (YF3), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), magnesium oxyfluoride (MgOF), erbium oxyfluoride (ErOF), scandium fluoride (ScF3), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), yttrium (Y), or magnesium (Mg).

13. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 7, wherein: The semiconductor device includes a cap, a nozzle, a panel, a gas distribution plate, a heater, a screw, a substrate support, a support platform, a gasket, an edge ring, a process kit ring, or a lifting pin.

14. A method of forming a sintered semiconductor cavity device, comprising the steps of: applying a coating powder to a printing bed of a 3D printer, the coating powder comprising: A core comprising one or both of a ceramic and a metal; and an anti-corrosion coating disposed around the core; The 3D printer uses a nozzle to apply an adhesive solution to the coating powder to form a body of a semiconductor element; and sintersects the body of the semiconductor element to form the semiconductor element from the coating powder.

15. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 14, wherein: The semiconductor device includes: a ceramic master phase defining a plurality of grain boundaries; and a primary corrosion-resistant phase confined to the plurality of grain boundaries.

16. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 14, wherein: The adhesive solution includes a liquid-based printing solution.

17. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 15, wherein: The core comprises at least one of the following: aluminum oxide (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), aluminum, magnesium, titanium, barium, aluminum-magnesium alloy, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, nickel, or stainless steel; and the anti-corrosion coating comprises one or more of an oxide, a nitride, a nitrogen oxide, a fluoride, a fluorine oxide, a metal, or a carbide.

18. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 17, wherein: The oxide, the nitride, the nitrogen oxide, the fluoride, the fluorine oxide, the metal, or the carbide comprises at least one of the following: aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), magnesium oxide (MgO), titanium oxide (TiO₂), erbium oxide (Er₂O₃), lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃), scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium oxide (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium oxide (AlN), yttrium ... ZrO2), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon nitride (SiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride (TiN), zirconium nitride (ZrN), aluminum oxyfluoride (AlOF), yttrium oxyfluoride (YOF), aluminum fluoride (AlF3), yttrium fluoride (YF3), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), magnesium oxyfluoride (MgOF), erbium oxyfluoride (ErOF), scandium fluoride (ScF3), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), yttrium (Y), or magnesium (Mg).

19. The method of forming a sintered semiconductor chamber element as described in claim 14, wherein: The anti-corrosion coating includes a first coating layer; and the coating powder includes a second coating layer.

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