Claims
- 1. A method of forming an electrically insulating sealing structure for use between a first chamber wall housing a cathode and a second chamber wall housing an anode of a physical vapor deposition apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:a) providing a rigid central member of said insulating sealing structure; and, b) applying an electrically insulating coating over and adhering to at least a portion of said rigid central member.
- 2. The method of claim 1, including the additional step:c) polishing a surface of said electrically insulating coating to a finish having a roughness height of less than about 0.40 μm to enable said surface to seal with a mating surface against a vacuum of at least 10−6 Torr.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said rigid central member comprises aluminum.
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said electrically insulating coating is selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide, polyimide, polyketone, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, epoxy, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and combinations thereof.
- 5. The method of claim 3, wherein said aluminum is treated to create an aluminum oxide layer thereon prior to application of said electrically insulating coating.
- 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said electrically insulating coating is selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide, polyimide, polyketone, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, epoxy, silicon oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and combinations thereof.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said rigid central member comprises aluminum.
- 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said aluminum is treated to create an aluminum oxide layer thereon prior to application of said electrically insulating coating.
- 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said electrically insulating coating is selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide, polyimide, polyketone, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, epoxy, silicon oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and combinations thereof.
- 10. The method of claim 7, wherein said electrically insulating coating is selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide, polyimide, polyketone, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, epoxy, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and combinations thereof.
- 11. A method of providing an electrically insulating sealing surface between housing sections of a semiconductor processing chamber, said method comprising the steps of:a) providing a sealing structure having a rigid central member; b) applying an electrically insulating coating over and adhering to at least a portion of a surface of said rigid central member; and c) finishing sealing surfaces of said sealing structure, whereby said semiconductor processing chamber is sealed against a vacuum of at least 10−6 Torr.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said finishing includes polishing a surface of said electrically insulating coating to a finish having a roughness height of less than about 0.40 μm.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said rigid central member comprises aluminum.
- 14. The method of claim 13, wherein said electrically insulating coating is selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide, polyimide, polyketone, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, epoxy, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and combinations thereof.
- 15. The method claim 13, wherein said aluminum is treated to create an aluminum oxide layer thereon prior to application of said electrically insulating coating.
- 16. The method of claim 15, wherein said electrically insulating coating is selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide, polyimide, polyketone, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, epoxy, silicon oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and combinations thereof.
- 17. The method of claim 11, wherein said rigid central member comprises aluminum.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said aluminum is treated to create an aluminum oxide layer thereon prior to application of said electrically insulating coating.
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said electrically insulating coating is selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide, polyimide, polyketone, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, epoxy, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and combinations thereof.
- 20. The method of claim 18, wherein said electrically insulating coating is selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide, polyimide, polyketone, polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, epoxy, silicon oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and combinations thereof.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION
This application is a divisional of Ser. No. 09/478,940, filed on Jan. 6, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,509, which is a divisional of Ser. No. 08/899,685 filed on Jul. 24, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,483, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/268,480 filed on Jun. 30, 1994, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (22)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1193463 |
Aug 1989 |
JP |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/268480 |
Jun 1994 |
US |
Child |
08/899685 |
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US |