Polished Ceramic Chamber Apertures to Reduce Wafer Defects
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Solution Overview
Problem
The semiconductor industry faces challenges in achieving smooth internal surfaces of apertures in ceramic components used in processing chambers, which leads to on-wafer defects due to rough interior finishes, requiring extensive RF conditioning that is time-consuming and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
The use of an abrasive flow system with a polymer base and abrasive particles like silicon carbide, diamond, and boron nitride to polish the interior surfaces of ceramic articles, reducing surface roughness and mitigating defects caused by drilling and reaming processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If thermal oxidation and RF conditioning processes are used to remove particulates from rough internal apertures, then on-wafer defect performance is improved, but processing time increases significantly (more than 100 hours of RF conditioning required)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing abrasive flow polishing of internal apertures before thermal oxidation and RF conditioning processes. The rough internal surfaces are polished using abrasive media flowed through the apertures, removing particulates and creating smooth surfaces that require minimal or no RF conditioning, thereby dramatically reducing total processing time while maintaining on-wafer defect performance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the time-consuming thermal oxidation and RF conditioning processes with a mechanical abrasive flow polishing process. The abrasive media (containing particles such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or diamond) mechanically removes material from rough internal surfaces, creating smooth finishes that eliminate the need for extended chemical or plasma-based conditioning processes
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional drilling and reaming processes are used to create apertures in ceramic components, then manufacturing is simplified, but rough internal surfaces are created that serve as sources of on-wafer defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the aperture creation and surface finishing operations into a single integrated process sequence. Conventional drilling and reaming are performed to create the aperture geometry, immediately followed by abrasive flow polishing that smooths the internal surfaces. This combination maintains the simplicity of conventional manufacturing while adding the necessary surface finish quality to eliminate on-wafer defects
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces abrasive flow polishing as an intermediary process between conventional drilling/reaming and final component assembly. The abrasive media acts as a mediator that transforms the rough surfaces created by mechanical drilling into smooth surfaces suitable for semiconductor processing, without requiring complete redesign of the aperture fabrication process
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method significantly improves the surface finish of apertures, reducing particulates and processing times, and enables more robust fabrication of ceramic articles for semiconductor processing chambers by smoothing interior surfaces to less than 32 μin roughness.
Implementation Method 1
polishing the at least one aperture based on flowing an abrasive media through the at least one aperture of the article. The abrasive media includes a polymer base and a plurality of abrasive particles.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are systems and methods for polishing internal surfaces of apertures in semiconductor processing chamber components. A method includes providing a ceramic article having at least one aperture, the ceramic article being a component for a semiconductor processing chamber. The method further includes polishing the at least one aperture based on flowing an abrasive media through the at least one aperture of the ceramic article, the abrasive media including a polymer base and a plurality of abrasive particles.