Thermal spray metallic coatings are used for a range of applications in the semiconductor equipment industry including applications from particle reduction to precious metal reclaim in chamber operations during thin film deposition. Thermal spray coatings assist in reducing part costs, increasing product performance and lifetimes, and reducing chamber maintenance. The processing parameters in two-wire arc spraying of aluminum are traditionally used to provide a range of coating properties in industry from dense coatings for corrosion control applications- to rough texture coatings for anti-slip applications. Thus, the two-wire arc processing parameters selected for use for semiconductor applications are critical for surviving the semiconductor processing environment and increasing product performance. Important two wire processing parameters include current, voltage, atomizing air pressure, and stand-off distance between the gun and target (sprayed part). Secondary processing parameters including robotic traverse rate, air cooling, part manipulation (turntable speed, etc.) and others. Further, the specifics of the two-wire arc gun design (make/model), nozzle diameter, air caps, and wire diameter are also important variables. Current and voltage are important parameters for generating the electric arc for melting the aluminum wire. An optimum processing window exists for the range of current and voltage used for producing the aluminum coatings. The atomizing air pressure also has an optimum range for atomizing the molten aluminum produced from the electric arc. A range of atomizing air pressures are used to produce a range of coatings from dense to rougher textured coatings. Higher operating current increases the quantity of molten producing the coatings, and the lower operating current reduces the spray rates of the aluminum to be atomized. This paper examines the two-wire arc parameters producing aluminum coatings. Two-wire arc parameters to be examined include current, voltage, atomizing air pressure and stand-off distance varied to produce coatings. The coating produced from these parameter changes will be investigated in terms of microstructure and mechanical properties. The microstructural investigation will involve porosity analysis. Mechanical property testing will include tensile-adhesion bond strength. The surface roughness will also be investigated

Thermal sprayed coatings produced from ultrafine, near-nano and nano grained powders provide improved properties as compared to conventional (micron size) powders. These ultrafine, near-nano and nano grained materials show significant potential for applications in the aerospace, energy, oil & gas and a great many other industries. A study was conducted to investigate the influence of grain size on the microstructures formed and mechanical properties of conventional, ultrafine, near-nano and nano size WC materials. Powders and coatings as well as consolidated forms of tungsten-carbide-10% cobalt- 4% chromium (WC-10Co-4Cr) and tungsten-carbide- 12% cobalt (WC-12Co) materials are examined. Thermal spray coatings are produced of carbides of several different grain sizes using high velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) thermal spray processing. Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is performed to provide consolidated forms of WC-10Co-4Cr materials. An examination of the thermal sprayed coatings is conducted using microstructural analysis and mechanical property testing. A brief examination of the wear and bend performance of a near-nano, and nano-enhanced material will be compared to a conventional material (micron sized).

Thermal sprayed coatings produced from ultrafine- and nano- and near-nano grained powders of tungsten carbide- 10 wt.% cobalt-4 wt.% chromium (WC-10Co-4Cr) are reported to provide improved properties as compared to conventional powders. These materials show great potential for applications in the aerospace, oil & gas, power, and many other industries. A study is proposed to investigate the influence of WC grain size on HVOF coating properties. Thermal spray coatings will be produced from powders consisting of grains of WC from micron- to near-nano in size in a Co-Cr matrix. The Hall-Petch relationship cites the strengthening of materials by reducing the average crystallite (grain) size. An examination of consolidated forms will be performed using the same powders used in thermal spray in the spark plasma sintering (SPS) consolidation. The mechanical properties of thermal spray coatings have been reported to relate to those of bulk materials. Improvements observed in the HVOF spray coatings will be compared to those of bulk samples.

Twin wire arc sprayed aluminum coatings are used extensively in semiconductor processing equipment. In certain applications, such as metal reclamation, rough coating textures are desirable as the added surface area facilitates the collection of metals and lowers manufacturing costs. There are many factors that affect the surface roughness of twin wire arc sprayed coatings. This study investigates coating conditions that produce rough textures and the influence of surface roughness on bond strength. Traditional theory of arc spraying has been that to obtain a rough coating, particle velocity should be reduced by decreasing the atomizing air pressure of the system. Decreasing air pressure, however, may have a negative impact on bond strength, the extent of which is assessed in this study.