Plasma erosion resistant thin film coating for high temperature application

1. An article comprising:

a graphite body;

a first protective layer on a surface of the graphite body, the first protective layer comprising silicon carbide and having a thickness of about 5-100 μm; and

a conformal second protective layer on the first protective layer, the conformal second protective layer comprising a plasma resistant ceramic thin film having a thickness of about 5-50 μm and a porosity of less than about 1%, wherein the conformal second protective layer is resistant to cracking at temperatures of up to 650 degrees Celsius, and wherein the conformal second protective layer comprises a ceramic selected from the group consisting of Er 3 Al 5 O 12 , Y 3 Al 5 O 12 and YF 3 .

2. The article of claim 1 , wherein the article is a susceptor for an atomic layer deposition chamber.

3. The article of claim 2 , wherein the first layer comprises a plurality of depressions, each of the plurality of depressions being configured to support a wafer and having a plurality of surface features, wherein the second layer conforms to the plurality of depressions and to the plurality of surface features.

4. The article of claim 1 , further comprising:

a protective layer stack on the first protective layer, the protective layer stack comprising at least the second protective layer and a third protective layer covering the second protective layer, wherein the third protective layer has a thickness of less than approximately 20 microns and comprises at least one of Y 3 Al 5 O 12 , Y 4 Al 2 O 9 , Er 2 O 3 , Gd 2 O 3 , Er 3 Al 5 O 12 , Gd 3 Al 5 O 12 , or a ceramic compound comprising Y 4 Al 2 O 9 and a solid-solution of Y 2 O 3 —ZrO 2 .

5. The article of claim 1 , wherein the second layer is erosion resistant to plasmas having a fluorine based chemistry.

6. The article of claim 1 , further comprising:

a plurality of plasma resistant plugs in a plurality of holes in the body, wherein the second protective layer covers the plurality of plasma resistant plugs.

7. The article of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of plasma resistant plugs are composed of a sintered ceramic comprising at least one of AN, Y 2 O 3 or a ceramic compound comprising Y 4 Al 2 O 9 and a solid-solution of Y 2 O 3 —ZrO 2 .

8. A method comprising:

providing an article comprising a graphite body;

depositing a first protective layer on a surface of the graphite body, the first protective layer comprising silicon carbide and having a thickness of about 5-100 μm; and

performing ion assisted deposition to deposit a conformal second protective layer over the first protective layer, the conformal second protective layer comprising a plasma resistant ceramic thin film having a thickness of about 5-50 μm and a porosity of less than about 1%, wherein the conformal second protective layer is resistant to cracking at temperatures of up to 650 degrees Celsius, and wherein the conformal second protective layer comprises a ceramic selected from the group consisting of Er 3 Al 5 O 12 , Y 3 Al 5 O 12 and YF 3 .

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

heating the article to a temperature of approximately 200-400 degrees Celsius; and

performing the ion assisted deposition while the article is heated.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein depositing the first protective layer comprises performing a chemical vapor deposition process.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

inserting a plurality of plasma resistant plugs into a plurality of holes in the graphite body before performing the ion assisted deposition.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of plasma resistant plugs are composed of a sintered ceramic comprising at least one of AlN, Y 2 O 3 or a ceramic compound comprising Y 4 Al 2 O 9 and a solid-solution of Y 2 O 3 —ZrO 2 .

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

inserting a plurality of plasma resistant plugs into a plurality of holes in the graphite body before performing depositing the first protective layer.