Support fixture for semiconductor wafers and associated fabrication method

A support fixture for holding at least one wafer comprising:

• a boat;
• a first layer on at least a portion of said boat, wherein said first layer has a greater purity than said boat;
• and
• a second layer on at least a portion of said first layer, wherein said second layer is formed of a different material than said first layer and said boat, and wherein said second layer has at least one material property selected from the group consisting of:
• (i) a hardness that more closely matches a hardness of the at least one wafer than a hardness of said boat, and (ii) a coefficient of thermal expansion that more closely matches a coefficient of thermal expansion of the at least one wafer than a coefficient of thermal expansion of said boat.

A method of fabricating a support fixture for holding at least one wafer comprising:

• providing a boat comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of silicon carbide and graphite;
• depositing a first layer of silicon carbide on at least a portion of said boat;
• and
• depositing a second layer of polysilicon on at least a portion of the first layer.

A method of fabricating a support fixture for holding at least one wafer comprising:

• depositing a first layer on at least a portion of a boat, wherein depositing the first layer comprises depositing a first layer that has a greater purity than the boat;
• and
• depositing a second layer on at least a portion of the first layer, wherein depositing the second layer comprises depositing a second layer that is formed of a different material than the first layer and the boat and that has at least one material property selected from the group consisting of:
• (i) a hardness that more closely matches a hardness of the at least one wafer than a hardness of the boat, and (ii) a coefficient of thermal expansion that more closely matches a coefficient of thermal expansion of the at least one wafer than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the boat.