Fabrication of dense yttrium oxyfluoride ceramics by hot pressing and their mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties

Excellent corrosion-resistant materials have been strongly required to reduce particle contamination during the plasma process in semiconductor production. Yttrium oxyfluoride can be a candidate as highly corrosion-resistant material. In this study, three types of dense yttrium oxyfluoride ceramics with different oxygen contents, namely, YOF, Y 5 O 4 F 7 and Y 5 O 4 F 7 + YF 3 , were fabricated by hot pressing, and their mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties were evaluated. Y 5 O 4 F 7 ceramics showed an excellent thermal stability up to 800 °C, a low loss factor, and volume resistivity comparable to conventional plasma-resistant oxides, such as Y 2 O 3 . From these results, yttrium oxyfluoride ceramics are strongly suggested to be used as electrostatic chucks in semiconductor production.