Improvement of plasma resistance of anodic aluminum-oxide film in sulfuric acid containing cerium(IV) ion

Abstract

The parts of equipment in a process chamber for semiconductors are protected with an anodic aluminum-oxide (AAO) film to prevent plasma corrosion. We added cerium(IV) ions to sulfuric acid in the anodizing of an AAO film to improve the plasma corrosion resistance, and confirmed that the AAO film thickness increased by up to ~20% when using 3 mM cerium(IV) ions compared with general anodizing. The α-Al2O3 phase increased with increasing cerium(IV) ion concentration. The breakdown voltage and etching rate improved to ~35% and 40%, respectively. The film's performance regarding the generation of contamination particles reduced by ~50%.