Development of Low Oxide Reactive Metal Plasma Spray Coatings for Semiconductor Applications

The development of low oxide reactive metal plasma spray coatings will be performed for semiconductor tool applications.

Objective of the study is to overcome the limitations of standard plasma spray processing for production of reactive metal coatings of titanium and tantalum materials.

The study will be conducted using low pressure plasma spray (LPPS) or vacuum plasma spray (VPS) processing conducted in a soft vacuum (30-100 torr).  Testing may also be conducted in an argon environment at close to ambient pressures after initial pump down.

The microstructural and mechanical properties will be investigated, including scanning electron microscopy and elemental analysis (oxygen content).