Mechanical Properties Characterization of Silicon Carbide Coated Graphite Composites for MOCVD Structural Design

Silicon carbide coated graphite is the main structural materials semiconductor processing equipment under both high temperature and corrosive environment. However, their deformation and integrity during processing would impose severe structural design concerns. For achieving reliable design, both elastic and fracture properties of the materials should be provided. This work presents the effort and results on the room temperature elastic moduli characterization of both SiC and graphite, and hardness, residual stress, and toughness of SiC using various approaches. The obtained properties would then be served as the basic of thermo-structural design of a novel MOCVD coater, where the thermal warpage and delamination should be avoided for coating performance and machine longevity consideration. In addition, the concomitant method for SiC elastic modulus characterization also provides a more reliable approach to evaluate material properties to enhance the confidence level. Thus the results and method presented should be useful for optimizing both structural and processing parameters on machine design and for setting a rational flow for material properties characterization in related applications.