Protective coating on a substrate and method of making thereof

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a crack-free protective coating comprising at least one of aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide, aluminum oxynitride or combinations thereof. Disclosed herein too is a method for making an article comprising disposing a protective coating comprising at least one of aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide, aluminum oxynitride or combinations thereof upon a substrate comprising pyrolytic boron nitride, pyrolytic graphite and/or carbon doped boron nitride.

1 . A protective layer for coating at least a surface of an article for use in a halogen-containing gas and/or plasma environment, said coating layer comprising at least one of aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide, aluminum oxynitride or combinations thereof, 
 wherein the protective layer is substantially crack free.    
     
     
         2 . The protective layer of  claim 1 , wherein the surface of the article is a substrate comprising one of pyrolytic boron nitride, graphite, pyrolytic graphite, carbon doped boron nitride, silicon carbide, tantalum carbide, titanium carbide or tungsten carbide, silicon oxycarbide, zirconium carbide, hafnium carbide, lanthanum carbide, vanadium carbide, niobium carbide, magnesium carbide, chromium carbide, molybdenum carbide, beryllium carbide, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         3 . The protective layer of  claim 2 , wherein the substrate comprises pyrolytic boron nitride.  
     
     
         4 . The protective layer of  claim 1 , having a thickness in the range between 3 μm to 200 μm.  
     
     
         5 . The protective layer of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is substantially amorphous.  
     
     
         6 . The protective layer of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is substantially crystalline when deposited onto an underlying substrate in the range of 600-900° C.  
     
     
         7 . The protective layer of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is substantially crystalline, substantially amorphous, or a mixture of both crystalline and amorphous.  
     
     
         8 . The protective layer of  claim 1 , wherein the layer has an amorphous content of 100 wt %, based upon the total weight of the coating layer.  
     
     
         9 . The protective layer of  claim 8 , wherein the layer has an amorphous content of at least 50 wt %, based upon the total weight of the coating layer.  
     
     
         10 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , wherein the coating layer has a crystallite size of less than or equal to about 10 nanometers.  
     
     
         11 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , wherein the coating layer has an intrinsic tensile stress of less than or equal to about 10 MPa, or under compressive stress of less than or equal to 200 MPa.  
     
     
         12 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , wherein the coating layer increases the life cycle of the article for use in a halogen-containing gas and/or plasma environment by at least five hours, as compared to an article not coated with said coating layer.  
     
     
         13 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , wherein the coating layer contains cracks occupying less than 10% of the total volumne of the coating layer.  
     
     
         14 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , having an etch resistance rate of less than 100 Angstroms per minute upon exposure to a halogen-containing gas and/or plasma environment.  
     
     
         15 . The protective coating layer of  claim 14 , having an etch resistance rate of less than 30 Angstroms per minute upon exposure to a fluorine-containing gas and/or plasma environment.  
     
     
         16 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , comprising up to about 20 atomic percent of oxygen and/or hydrogen.  
     
     
         17 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , having at least 25 % less of particles forming on the backside of the article coated with the protective coating as compared to an article not coated with said coating layer.  
     
     
         18 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , wherein the protective coating is deposited on the surface of the article by one of expanding thermal plasma, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, metal organic chemical vapor deposition, metal organic vapor phase epitaxy, sputtering, electron beam and plasma spray.  
     
     
         19 . The protective coating layer of  claim 1 , wherein the protective coating is deposited on the surface of the article by an ion plating process.  
     
     
         20 . An article comprising a protective coating layer on at least one of its surfaces, said coating layer comprising at least one of aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide, aluminum oxynitride or combinations thereof, 
 and wherein the coating layer is substantially crack free when said article is exposed to fluorine containing gases and/or plasma.    
     
     
         21 . The article of  claim 20 , wherein the coating layer has an intrinsic tensile stress of less than or equal to about 10 MPa, or under compressive stress of less than or equal to 200 MPa.  
     
     
         22 . The article of  claim 20 , wherein the coating layer is substantially crystalline when deposited onto an underlying substrate in the range of 600-900° C.  
     
     
         23 . The article of  claim 20 , wherein the coating layer has an amorphous content of at least 50 wt %, based upon the total weight of the coating layer.  
     
     
         24 . The article of  claim 20 , further comprising a conductive electrode for use as a heater or electrostatic chuck.  
     
     
         25 . The article of  claim 24 , wherein the electrode comprises pyrolytic graphite, molybdenum, manganese, tantalum, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing materials.  
     
     
         26 . The article of  claim 24 , wherein the electrode is in the form of a foil.  
     
     
         27 . The article of  claim 24 , wherein the electrode is manufactured by a process involving screen-printing, sputtering, ETP, plasma spray, bead blasting, vapor deposition, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         28 . A method for modifying the in-film stress in a protective coating layer of an article for use in a halogen-containing gas and/or plasma environment, said method comprising: 
 depositing a protective coating layer on at least one surface of the article, said coating layer comprising at least one of aluminum nitride, carbon and/or oxygen doped aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide, aluminum oxynitride or combinations thereof,    said at least one surface comprises at least one of pyrolytic boron nitride, pyrolytic graphite and/or carbon doped boron nitride, silicon carbide, tantalum carbide, titanium carbide or tungsten carbide, silicon oxycarbide, zirconium carbide, hafnium carbide, lanthanum carbide, vanadium carbide, niobium carbide, magnesium carbide, chromium carbide, molybdenum carbide, beryllium carbide or combinations thereof,    wherein said protective coating layer is substantially crack free upon exposure to said halogen-containing gas and/or plasma environment.    
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the deposited coating layer has an intrinsic tensile stress of less than or equal to about 10 MPa, or under compressive stress of less than or equal to 200 MPa.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the protective coating layer is deposited on said at least one surface via at least one of ion plating and plasma assisted CVD methods.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the protective coating layer is deposited on said at least one surface via an expanding thermal plasma method.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the protective coating layer is deposited on said at least one surface via an ion plating method.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the protective coating layer is deposited on said at least one surface at a temperature in the range of 200-1000° C.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the protective coating layer is deposited on said at least one surface at a temperature in the range of 300-900° C.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the protective coating layer is deposited on said at least one surface at a temperature in the range of 600-900° C.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the protective coating layer has an adhesion strength which exceeds the cohesive strength of the surface protected by said coating layer.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein said at least one surface of the article is first protected by depositing at least a layer of pyrolytic boron nitride, pyrolytic graphite and/or carbon doped boron nitride on said surface.  
     
     
         38 . An article manufactured by the method of  claim 28 .  
     
     
         39 . The protective layer of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is a multilayer.