The Production of Two-Wire Arc Coatings for Semiconductor Equipment Components and the Recycling of Parts

Twin wire arc sprayed (TWAS) coatings are used extensively in the semiconductor equipment and electronics related industries.  These TWAS coatings have an engineered surface provided by a thermal spray arc process.  These metallic (aluminum, titanium, others) coatings are used for a range of applications including reducing particle generation in process chamber operations during thin film deposition. The coatings used for all these industries improve the performance and extend the service times of operations.

There are many factors that affect the quality and application of the twin wire arc sprayed coatings.  This study will investigate the parameters needed to produce the desired surface, and the influence of the various spray parameters on the quality of the coating.  Further, the semiconductor equipment components are reused many times requiring the removal and re-application of the TWAS coatings.  The process to remove existing TWAS coatings and thin film deposited adhered to the TWAS surface will be reviewed along with processing steps required to prepare a recycled part for a subsequent TWAS re-application.