Electrostatic Chuck Porous Plug Bonding Without Adhesive Failure
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The unpredictable insertion of a porous plug into a ceramic body in electrostatic chucks leads to adhesive erosion, premature arcing failures, and secondary particle contamination, reducing the service life and product yields due to variations in adhesive quality and exposure to elevated temperatures.
Innovation Solution
A ceramic-to-ceramic bond is used to secure the porous plug within the ceramic body, eliminating the need for adhesives and enhancing the robustness and reliability of the electrostatic chuck by sintering the plug with the ceramic body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive is used to secure the porous plug to the ceramic body, then the plug can be retained in position, but the adhesive erodes over time leading to contamination and reduced reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive layer is completely removed from the system. The porous plug is directly sintered to the ceramic body, eliminating the adhesive interface that causes erosion and contamination. This extraction of the harmful adhesive component resolves the contradiction between retention and contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
A direct ceramic-to-ceramic sintered bond is created between the porous plug and the ceramic body, forming an integrated composite structure. This eliminates the need for adhesive materials and creates a robust, contamination-free connection that maintains reliability over time.
2Ease of manufacture
If manual adhesive application is used to secure the plug, then the process is simple, but insertion quality varies leading to premature failures
Solution Approach 1:
The manual adhesive application process is replaced with a sintering process that fuses the porous plug directly to the ceramic body. This substitution eliminates variability in adhesive application while maintaining ease of manufacture through a standardized thermal processing step.
Solution Approach 2:
The bonding mechanism changes from chemical adhesion (adhesive) to thermal sintering. By controlling sintering parameters such as temperature, time, and atmosphere, consistent and high-quality bonds are achieved without the variability inherent in manual adhesive application.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If adhesive bond is used to secure the plug, then the plug can be attached, but the bond weakens under plasma and thermal conditions reducing service life
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive layer is eliminated entirely, replacing it with a permanent, sintered ceramic bond. This removes the weak link in the system that degrades under plasma and thermal conditions, dramatically extending the service life of the electrostatic chuck.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous plug and ceramic body are bonded through homogeneous sintering, creating a uniform ceramic-to-ceramic interface. This homogeneous structure resists degradation from plasma and thermal exposure, maintaining bond strength throughout the service life of the device.
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 approach reduces contamination, extends the service life of the electrostatic chuck, and improves production yields by minimizing particle contamination and increasing mean times between service intervals, resulting in a more reliable and cost-effective solution.
Implementation Method 1
ceramic porous plug is sintered with the ceramic body
Data Source
AI summary
Electrostatic chucks and method for forming the same are described herein. The electrostatic chucks include a backside gas passage having a ceramic porous plug secured therein by a ceramic body of the chuck with a ceramic-to-ceramic body. In one example, ceramic porous plug is sintered with the ceramic body.