Advanced ceramic material is an indispensable material in human life and modernization construction. It is one of the most important inorganic non-metal materials that people pay attention to after metal materials and non-metal materials. It has the common advantages of metal materials and polymer materials. In the process of continuous modification, ceramic materials are unique in the field of materials with their excellent properties, which are highly valued by people and will play a very important role in future social development. effect.
Among them, oxide ceramics have the characteristics of high hardness, high wear resistance, corrosion resistance, etc. In particular, they do not have oxidation problems, so they are widely used as a special structural ceramic material.
Oxide ceramics mainly include magnesia ceramics, alumina ceramics, beryllium oxide ceramics, zirconia ceramics, tin oxide ceramics, silica ceramics, and mullite ceramics. Among them, the most commonly used are alumina ceramics and zirconia ceramics.
Al2O3 ceramics have high temperature resistance and low thermal conductivity, and can be used as thermal insulation materials, such as missile nozzle linings, thermocouple protective sleeves, jet flame controllers, high temperature furnace tubes, crucibles, etc. Transparent alumina Ceramics can also be used as sodium lamps.
In chemical applications, Al2O3 ceramics also have a wide range of uses, such as ceramic chemical filler balls, inorganic microfiltration membranes, and corrosion-resistant coatings.
Due to its high melting point, low thermal conductivity and high oxidation resistance, ZrO2 ceramic materials can be used as refractory materials and furnace lining materials as high temperature ceramics.
Al2O3 and ZrO2 can also prepare ceramic membranes for fine filtration of various feed liquids in the hydrometallurgical process; and foam ceramic material filters for the filtration of molten metal in the casting process.
Today, in addition to the above applications, oxide ceramics play a pivotal role in another important field, that is, in semiconductor devices.
It is understood that a large number of precision ceramic components are used in semiconductor equipment, and these ceramic components can account for more than 10% of the cost of semiconductor equipment. Among them, oxide ceramics such as alumina and zirconia are the more commonly used ceramic materials for precision components. .
For example, alumina ceramics, in semiconductor etching equipment, the etching machine chamber material is the main source of wafer contamination, and the degree of influence of plasma etching on it determines the yield, quality, and stability of the etching process. Wait.
Therefore, researching and developing an extremely etch-resistant cavity material has become a very challenging task in the semiconductor integration industry and plasma etching technology. At present, high-purity Al2O3 coatings or Al2O3 ceramics are mainly used as protective materials for etching the cavity and the components in the cavity.
In addition to the cavity, alumina ceramics are also used in the gas nozzles of the plasma equipment, the gas distribution plate and the fixing ring for fixing the wafer.
For another example, in the wafer polishing process, alumina ceramics can be widely used in polishing plates, polishing pad calibration platforms, vacuum suction cups, and the like.
Zirconia ceramics also have important applications in semiconductor equipment, such as ceramic rivets, which are an indispensable tool in the wire bonding process. The main component of some manufacturers' ceramic rivets is zirconia reinforced alumina. The microstructure is uniform and dense, and the density is increased to 4.3g/cm3.
The content of tetragonal zirconia and the uniform and dense microstructure promote the excellent mechanical properties of the zirconium-doped ceramic capillary, which reduces the wear and replacement of the ceramic capillary tip during the wire bonding process.
In short, the application of oxide ceramics in semiconductor equipment is far more extensive than we imagined. Coinciding with the current complex international trade situation, the urgent needs of the semiconductor equipment and materials industry will promote the development and production of ceramic parts for domestic semiconductor equipment. , which is both an opportunity and a challenge.