Plasma etch-resistant film and a method for its fabrication

1. A method for fabricating a plasma etch-resistant film on a surface of a substrate, wherein the method comprises the step of forming a film comprising an intermediate layer of rare earth metal oxide, rare earth metal carbonate, or rare earth metal oxycarbonate or any mixture thereof on a first layer of rare earth metal oxide, wherein the rare earth metal is the same in the first layer and in the intermediate layer, and wherein the step of forming the film comprises, in a reaction space, the steps of:

depositing the first layer by exposing a deposition surface to alternately repeated surface reactions of at least two precursors including a precursor for rare earth metal and a first precursor for oxygen such that the structure of the first layer is crystalline, and

depositing the intermediate layer by exposing a deposition surface to alternately repeated surface reactions of at least two precursors including a precursor for rare earth metal and a second precursor for oxygen such that the structure of the intermediate layer is amorphous,

wherein the first precursor for oxygen is different from the second precursor for oxygen.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises depositing the intermediate layer on the first layer such that the surface of the first layer is covered by the intermediate layer.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the deposition surface is exposed to carbon dioxide simultaneously with being exposed to the second precursor for oxygen or after being exposed to the second precursor for oxygen.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first precursor for oxygen is selected from a group consisting of water, methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, 2-butanol, and tert-butanol.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second precursor for oxygen is selected from a group consisting of ozone; and a combination comprising ozone.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second precursor for oxygen is selected from a group consisting of a combination of ozone and water; a combination of ozone and oxygen; and a combination of ozone and hydrogen peroxide.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second precursor for oxygen is selected from a group consisting of oxygen-containing radicals; oxygen plasma; carbon dioxide plasma; organic peroxides; organic hydroperoxides; peroxyacids; and singlet oxygen.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the precursor for rare earth metal is selected from a group consisting of a precursor for scandium, a precursor for yttrium, a precursor for lanthanum, a precursor for cerium, a precursor for praseodymium, a precursor for neodymium, a precursor for samarium, a precursor for europium, a precursor for gadolinium, a precursor for terbium, a precursor for dysprosium, a precursor for holmium, a precursor for erbium, a precursor for thulium, a precursor for ytterbium, and a precursor for lutetium.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are carried out by using the same precursor for rare earth metal, or wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are carried out by using different precursors for rare earth metal.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are carried out at a temperature of 150 to 450° C.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the first layer is carried out until the thickness of the first layer is between 10 and 1000 nm.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the intermediate layer is carried out until the thickness of the intermediate layer is between 0.1 and 50 nm.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are repeated out until the thickness of the film is at least 0.5 μm.

14. A plasma etch-resistant film on a surface of a substrate obtainable by the method of claim 1 .

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are carried out at a temperature of 200 to 230° C.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are carried out at a temperature of 200 to 250° C.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are carried out at a temperature of 150 to 250° C.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are carried out at a temperature of 150 to 350° C.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the first layer is carried out until the thickness of the first layer is between 100 and 300 nm.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the first layer is carried out until the thickness of the first layer is between 50 and 500 nm.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the intermediate layer is carried out until the thickness of the intermediate layer is between 0.5 and 10 nm.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing the intermediate layer is carried out until the thickness of the intermediate layer is between 1 and 5 nm.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are repeated out until the thickness of the film is at least 2 μm.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are repeated out until the thickness of the film is at least 5 μm.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of depositing the first layer and depositing the intermediate layer are repeated out until the thickness of the film is at least 10 μm.