Implanatation process for improving ceramic resistance to corrosion

Abstract

A method for improving the corrosion resistance of ceramic parts in a substrate processing chamber by implanting the parts with rare-earth ions. The implanted ceramic parts are highly resistant to corrosive environments that can be formed in semiconductor manufacturing equipment including those found in high temperature applications and high density plasma applications. In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, the ceramic parts are implanted with rare-earth ions using an implantation technique based on a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA™) ion source. The implanted ions are then reacted with fluorine radicals in a highly corrosive environment to form a layer of rare-earth fluoride material, RE:F , at the surface of the ceramic component. The sublimation temperature of such a RE:F layer is much higher than that of layers such as AlF that are formed on standard ceramic chamber components in such environments (e.g., up to 1100° C. as compared to 600° C.). At substrate processing temperatures less than the sublimation temperature, the formed RE:F layer acts as a passivation layer preventing consumption of the ceramic part during further substrate processing. A substrate processing chamber including at least one component implanted with rare-earth ions is provided. In various specific embodiments, the rare-earth-ion-implanted ceramic component is one or more of a chamber liner, a chamber dome, a cover plate, a gas manifold or faceplate and/or a substrate holder, such as a high temperature heater or an electrostatic chuck.