Patent ID: 8279576

Claim:
A ceramic electrostatic chuck that includes an embedded electrode, the electrostatic chuck comprising: a dielectric layer on which a wafer can be placed, the dielectric layer being formed of sintered aluminum nitride containing Sm and having a volume resistivity in the range of 4×10 9 to 4×10 10 Ωcm at room temperature; and a support layer that is in contact with the back side of the dielectric layer, is formed of sintered aluminum nitride containing Sm and Ce, and has a volume resistivity of 1×10 13 Ωcm or more at room temperature, wherein the dielectric layer is formed of sintered aluminum nitride that contains an Al—Sm—O compound. Sm being contained in an amount 1.2% to 4% by weight in terms of Sm 2 O 3 , the Al 2 O 3 /Sm 2 O 3 equivalent weight ration of Al in terms of Al 2 O 3 to Sm in terms of Sm 2 O 3 being in the range of 0.8 to 1.5, wherein the support layer is harmed of sintered aluminum nitride that contains oxides of Sm and Ce, Sm being contained in an amount 0.96% to 2.2% by weight in terms of Sm 2 O 3 Ce being contained in an amount 0.2% to 0.5% by weight in terms of CeO 2 , and wherein Ce is contained only in the support layer.