Applications

The highly corrosive process of manufacturing silicon wafers and semiconductors require very specialized, highly-engineered thermal coating solutions. APS Materials, Inc. has been pioneering new thermal spray solutions for this industry for nearly a decade.

Applications

• Corrosion Resistance for Etch Chambers
• Dielectric Coatings for Electrostatic Chucks
• Sputtering Targets
• PVD Shields
• PVD Liner Sets
• Ceramic Domes and Bell Jars
• Heat Sink Carriers
• Plasma Electrodes
• EMI/RFI Shielding

PVD/CVD Metal Etch Chambers

A proprietary plasma spray coating, engineered by APS Materials, Inc., is currently being used as corrosion resistance in metal etch chambers. This coating extends the overall life of etch chambers by more than 30 times, compared to conventional coatings or anodizing.

E-chucks

The semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry utilizes APS Materials, Inc.'s thermal spray coatings for dielectric layers on metal electrostatic chucks. These high-purity, dielectric coatings are very dense, highly durable, and provide long operating life, high breakdown voltage (4000+ volts), as well as comparatively short de-chucking times. APS has served this industry with high-purity ceramic dielectric coatings for over 5 consecutive years, and our expertise in this field is unsurpassed.

Shields & Sputtering Targets

Shield kits, deposition rings and sputtering targets are crucial in the operation of any PVD operation. During the deposition of some refractory metals, material can build up on the walls of the chambers and shields, which then begins to flake off at a certain thickness. The results are short operating times and high defect rates. APS Materials' twin-wire arc coatings provide the solution! These rough coatings provide 2-5 times the surface area versus an uncoated surface, as well as a very high bond strength to the substrate (4000-7000 psi), which allows the sputtered refractory metals to build up to much higher thicknesses without flaking. The benefits are dramatically increased tool uptime, decreased particle generation and overall lower cost of tool ownership.

Bell Jars, Domes, Deposition Rings, Baffle Plates

APS Materials, Inc. has done a significant amount of work applying a variety of different coatings to all sorts of semiconductor equipment components. These thermal coatings can provide corrosion resistance, erosion resistance, enhanced thermal conductivity and/or dielectric properties, depending on the application. Custom coatings are frequently engineered by APS Materials, Inc. in order to meet the specific requirements of a new or unusual application. There are also numerous cases where a plasma spray coated metal component provided a more durable, less costly alternative to a solid ceramic, quartz, carbide or nitride part.