An Investigation of the Electrical Behavior of Thermally Sprayed Aluminum Oxide

Abstract

Electrical properties of plasma-sprayed aluminum oxide coatings were measured at temperatures up to 600 °C. High purity (>99.5 wt% pure Al2O3) alumina powders were plasma-sprayed on stainless steel substrates over a range of power levels, using two gun configurations designed to attain different spray velocities. Key electrical properties were measured to evaluate the resultant coatings as potential insulating materials for electrostatic chucks (ESCs) being developed for semiconductor manufacturing. Electrical resistivity of all coatings was measured under vacuum upon heating and cooling over a temperature range of 20 to 600 °C. Dielectric constants were also measured under the same test conditions. X-ray diffraction was performed to examine phase formation in the coatings. Results show the importance of powder composition and careful selection and control of spray conditions for optimizing electrical behavior in plasma-sprayed aluminum oxide, and point to the need for further studies to characterize the relationship between high temperature electrical properties, measured plasma-spray variables, and specific microstructural and compositional coating features.