The reporter learned from SHJT Material Research Institute New Materials Co., Ltd. that the pilot project of rare earth modified high-purity sapphire raw materials independently developed by the research and development team of the School of Materials Science and Engineering of SHJT was officially put into production, and the production line was the first Output of 5N (purity greater than 99.999%) high purity alumina products. High-purity alumina is the high-end product of the aluminum industry and the main raw material of artificial sapphire. The new project makes up for the gaps in the international rare-earth high-purity aluminum preparation technology and will also enable the high-purity aluminum industry chain and the artificial sapphire industry chain to be fully integrated.
The R & D team has the first domestic ultra-high purity aluminum purification process and equipment with completely independent intellectual property rights. Team leader Professor Zhang Jiao said that the new technology perfectly combines the high-purity alumina purification process with the new rare earth material preparation technology. After adding rare earth, the product not only has greatly improved its toughness, but also achieved color brightness and hardness. It has greatly improved, and can now prepare 6N ultra-high-purity aluminum ingots and conduct large-scale production of 5N ultra-high-purity aluminum ingots, which has laid a solid foundation for the mass production of ultra-high-purity alumina raw materials in China.
It is understood that high-purity alumina produced by hydrolysis of high-purity aluminum with a purity of more than 5N is the main raw material for the production of sapphire wafers for LED substrates. More than 90% of LED companies worldwide use sapphire as the substrate material. In addition, high-purity alumina is also widely used in lithium battery separator materials, high-end phosphors, catalysts, semiconductor ceramics, etc.
Pan Tianlong, General Manager of SHJT New Materials Co., Ltd., said: "This new product was not available on the market before. Our ultra-high purity aluminum ingots fill the gap in this production technology. Our upstream is the industry of the aluminum industry. The downstream of this chain is the industrial chain of artificial sapphire crystals. This new product realizes the seamless connection between the two industrial chains in China for the first time. Next, we will gradually push the product to mobile phone screens, camera lenses, and high-end ceramic targets. Waiting for multiple production applications. "