High erosion resistant Y2O3–carbon electroconductive composite under the fluorocarbon plasma

A new plasma-resistant composite with electrical conductance has been developed for use in the plasma processing equipments of the semiconductor industry. Currently, electrical conductive silicon is widely used as parts for the wafer processing equipments, but its erosion rate is too fast, causing short life time of the parts. In this study, yttrium oxide, which has a high erosion resistance under fluorocarbon plasmas, was used as a matrix material and carbon was added for a conducting phase. The threshold fraction of carbon for the conductance depended on the carbon sources as well as the sintering temperature. The current flow through the carbon phases inside the composite was demonstrated through a scanning probe microscopy technique. The developed composite has an electrical conductivity around 0.01 S/cm with a threshold carbon of 0.6 wt%, at a density of more than 99%; its plasma resistance was about 15 times greater than that of silicon. The developed composite can be used as a substitute for the electrically conductive silicon parts in wafer processing equipments.