Silicon carbide ceramics (SiC ceramics) are an advanced ceramic material made of silicon carbide as the main component. Silicon carbide is an advanced semiconductor material with excellent high temperature, high voltage and high frequency performance. So why are silicon carbide ceramics widely used in the semiconductor industry?
Silicon carbide ceramics produced by Mingrui Ceramics.
The reasons why silicon carbide ceramics are widely used in the semiconductor industry can be mainly attributed to the following aspects:
1. Excellent physical and chemical properties
-
Semiconductor properties: Silicon carbide ceramics have a unique band structure with a band gap of about 2.8 eV, which makes it exhibit good semiconductor properties. This property enables silicon carbide ceramics to maintain stable conductivity under high temperature, high voltage and high power environments, thereby meeting the stringent requirements of the semiconductor manufacturing process.
-
High thermal conductivity: Silicon carbide ceramics have high thermal conductivity, which helps to quickly dissipate heat during semiconductor manufacturing, protect equipment from high temperature damage, and improve production efficiency.
-
High breakdown voltage: Silicon carbide ceramics have a high breakdown voltage, which makes it have excellent insulation properties in high voltage environments, which can ensure the stable operation of semiconductor equipment.
-
Low power loss: Silicon carbide ceramics have low power loss, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of semiconductor equipment and improve energy utilization efficiency.
2. Adapt to extreme working environment
-
High temperature resistance: Silicon carbide ceramics can maintain stable performance in high temperature environment, and its working temperature can reach 1600 ~ 1700 degrees Celsius, which is much higher than traditional ceramic materials. This makes silicon carbide ceramics perform well in high temperature processes such as heat treatment and annealing in semiconductor manufacturing.
-
Corrosion resistance: Silicon carbide ceramics have excellent corrosion resistance and can resist various corrosive gases and liquids used in the semiconductor manufacturing process, ensuring the long-term stable operation of the equipment.
3. High precision and stability
-
High-precision processing: Silicon carbide ceramics have high hardness, low wear, and a thermal expansion coefficient similar to that of silicon wafers, which enables it to maintain high-precision processing quality in grinding, polishing and other processes in semiconductor manufacturing.
-
Stability: Silicon carbide ceramics have excellent dimensional stability and low thermal expansion coefficient, which enables it to maintain stable performance in high-precision processes such as lithography and etching in semiconductor manufacturing.
4. Wide application areas
-
Key equipment components: Silicon carbide ceramics have been widely used in key equipment such as lithography machines, etching machines, and deposition equipment in semiconductor manufacturing. For example, silicon carbide workpiece stages, fixtures, reflectors and other components play a vital role in lithography machines.
-
Heat treatment process: In the heat treatment process, silicon carbide ceramic arms and components in the reaction chamber also play an important role. These components need to withstand extreme environments such as high temperature and corrosion, and silicon carbide ceramics are the ideal material to meet these requirements.
In summary, silicon carbide ceramics have been widely used in the semiconductor industry due to their excellent physical and chemical properties, ability to adapt to extreme working environments, high precision and stability, and a wide range of applications. With the continuous development of semiconductor technology, the application prospects of silicon carbide ceramics will be broader.
