Kyocera Corporation

Kazuhiro Kuchimachi

Yasunori Kawanabe

Saburo Nagano

Hironori Inoue

Kenji Kitazawa

Hiroshi Aida

Koichi Nagasaki

Yucong Wang

Hitoshi Atari

Akihiro Kukita

Masahiro Satou

An aluminum nitride-based sintered compact includes: aluminum nitride crystal particles containing Mg; composite oxide containing a rare earth element and Al, the composite oxide having a garnet crystal structure; and composite oxynitride containing Mg and Al. Particles of the composite oxide and particles of the composite oxynitride are interspersed between the aluminum nitride crystal particles. The composite oxide may include Y. A content of Mg in the aluminum nitride crystal particles may fall in a range of 0.1 mol % or more and 1.0 mol % or less, based on a total of all metal elements contained in the aluminum nitride crystal particles taken as 100 mol %. A semiconductor holding device includes the aluminum nitride-based sintered compact; and an electrostatic adsorptive electrode.

Aluminum nitride-based sintered compact and semiconductor holding device

A heater includes a first ceramic substrate having a heating face on one main face thereof; a second ceramic substrate disposed so that one main face thereof covers the other main face of the first ceramic substrate; a heat generating resistor disposed on the one main face of the second ceramic substrate; and an adhesive layer which bonds the first ceramic substrate and the second ceramic substrate while covering the heat generating resistor.

Heater

A sample holder includes a substrate composed of ceramics, having a sample holding surface on one main surface thereof; and a heat-generating resistor provided on an other main surface of the substrate, containing a glass component. The substrate contains the glass component in a vicinity region of the heat-generating resistor.

Sample holder and plasma etching apparatus using same

A thermoelectric module having an excellent durability is provide. The thermoelectric module comprises: a first support substrate having a first inner surface, a first outer surface and a plurality of first connecting electrodes formed on the first inner surface; a second support substrate having a second inner surface opposed to the first inner surface, a second outer surface and a plurality of second connecting electrodes formed on the second inner surface; a plurality of P-type thermoelectric elements and a plurality of N-type thermoelectric elements provided between the first inner surface and the second inner surface; a temperature-detecting element provided on the first inner surface.

Thermoelectric module

The electrostatic chuck includes: a conductive base formed of metal or both metal and ceramics, serving as a chucking electrode; and an insulating film formed on one principal plane of the conductive base, the top face of the insulating film serving as a placing surface for placing a wafer; wherein the insulating film is formed of a uniform amorphous ceramics of an oxide and has a thickness in a range of 10 to 100 &#x3bc;m, thereby preventing cracking and insulation breakdown in the insulating film and improving characteristics of releasing the wafer.

Electrostatic chuck

A wafer holding member comprises a ceramic base body and a heating resistor, an electrostatic adhesion electrode or a plasma generation electrode embedded in the base body. The wafer holding member exhibits reduced thermal expansion and greater corrosion resistance against halogenic gases. The heating resistor is made of a mixture containing 90 to 99 wt % of at least one of W, Mo, WC, TiC and TiN (the first component), and 1 to 10 wt % of AlN (the second component), the electrostatic adhesion electrode is made of a mixture containing 50 to 99 wt % of said first component, and 1 to 50 wt % of said second component, and the plasma generation electrode is made of a mixture containing 80 to 99 wt % of said first component, and 1 to 20 wt % of said second component. When heating resistors are used, the ceramic base body can include a plurality of heating resistors embedded in the base body and energized successively, with the ratio of the resistance value of the heating resistor numbered m to the resistance value of the heating resistor numbered m-1 is in a range of 1.5 to 4. The ceramic holding member can comprise a corrosion-resistant member made of an aluminum nitride based sintered body and more particularly, at least the mounting surface that holds the wafer is made of 99 wt % or more AlN and 1500 ppm or less of silicon.

Wafer holding member

A wafer support member comprises a base made of ceramics with thickness of 3 mm or more, a metallic electrode plate with thickness of 0.5 mm or more bonded onto the base, and an attraction surface composed of an aluminum nitride film with thickness of 0.01 to 0.5 mm coated on the surface of the electrode plate. The electrode plate functions as a plasma generating electrode when high frequency voltage is applied to the electrode plate and as an electrostatic attraction electrode when direct-current high voltage is applied to the electrode plate. Also, a wafer holding device for holding a wafer such as semiconductor wafer and glass substrate for liquid crystal is disclosed. The wafer holding device comprises a base body of aluminum nitride sintered body containing resistance heating elements therein. Lead terminals for feeding power to the resistance heating elements are formed in the lower surface of the base body. In one feature, at least the lead terminals and junction thereof are coated with a ceramic film composed of any one of silicon carbide, silicon nitride, sialon, and aluminum nitride. In another feature, the base body has a flat surface for forming an attraction surface, an outer circumference and penetration holes. Each of the penetration holes opens in the flat surface, and has an inner wall. An aluminum nitride film covers the flat surface, the outer circumference, and the inner wall of each of the penetration holes.

Wafer support member

Disclosure relates to the method for improving the heat absorption characteristic of a wafer holding member made of aluminum nitride during indirect heating and the method for preventing electrostatic adhesion. To establish the former method, the wafer holding member comprises an aluminum nitride based sintered body containing Er.sub.2 O.sub.3 as a sintering aid and silicon in the range of more than 200 ppm to 500 ppm or less and having a thermal conductivity of 150 W/m.k or more, and further comprises a holding base body made of an aluminum nitride based sintered body.

An electrostatic chuck comprising a chucking body of a dielectric ceramics and an electrostatic inner electrode embedded in the chuck (first invention), the ceramics having a volume resistivity value not more than 10.sup.13 .OMEGA.cm at a high temperature not less than 250.degree. C. This electrostatic chuck can properly chuck, fix, carry and correct wafers even at a high temperature not less than 250.degree. C. in CVD, PVD or high temperature etching apparatuses. An electrostatic chuck comprising a chucking body of a single-crystalline sapphire and an electrostatic inner electrode embedded in the chuck (second invention). This electrostatic chuck is characterized by extremely small leak current, high mechanical strength and strong chucking force even in the temperature range of room temperature to 500.degree. C. and in the voltage range of 500 to 2000 V. With this electrostatic chuck, objects to be chucked, such as silicon wafers, are less contaminated.

Growing community of inventors

Kirishima, Japan

Kazuhiro Kuchimachi