Remarkable plasma-resistance performance by nanocrystalline YO·MgO composite ceramics for semiconductor industry applications.

Motivated by recent finding of crystallographic-orientation-dependent etching behavior of sintered ceramics, the plasma resistance of nanocrystalline YO-MgO composite ceramics (YM) was evaluated for the first time. We report a remarkably high plasma etching resistance of nanostructure YM surpassing the plasma resistance of commercially used transparent YO and MgAlO ceramics. The pore-free YM ceramic with grain sizes of several hundred nm was fabricated by hot press sintering, enabling theoretical maximum densification at low temperature. The insoluble two components effectively suppressed the grain growth by mutual pinning. The engineering implication of the developed YM nanocomposite imparts enhanced mechanical reliability, better cost effectiveness with excellent plasma resistance property over their counterparts in plasma using semiconductor applications.