The "core strength" of semiconductor equipment - silicon carbide components

The "core strength" of semiconductor equipment - silicon carbide components

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an excellent structural ceramic material. Silicon carbide components, which are equipment components mainly made of silicon carbide and its composite materials, possess characteristics such as high density, high thermal conductivity, high bending strength, and large elastic modulus. They can adapt to the harsh reaction environments of strong corrosiveness and ultra-high temperatures in manufacturing processes such as wafer epitaxy, etching, etc. Therefore, they are widely used in main semiconductor equipment such as epitaxial growth equipment, etching equipment, oxidation/diffusion/annealing equipment, etc.

According to the crystal structure, silicon carbide has many crystal forms. Currently, the common types of SiC are mainly 3C, 4H and 6H. Different crystal forms of SiC have different applications. Among them, 3C-SiC is also commonly referred to as β-SiC. One important application of β-SiC is as a film and coating material. Therefore, at present, β-SiC is the main material used for graphite base coating.

According to the preparation process, silicon carbide components can be classified into chemical vapor deposition silicon carbide (CVD SiC), reaction sintering silicon carbide, recrystallization sintering silicon carbide, atmospheric pressure sintering silicon carbide, hot pressing sintering silicon carbide, and hot isostatic pressing sintering silicon carbide, etc.

Among the various methods for preparing silicon carbide materials, the chemical vapor deposition method produces products with high uniformity and purity, and this method also has strong process controllability. CVD silicon carbide materials are particularly suitable for use in the semiconductor industry due to their unique combination of excellent thermal, electrical and chemical properties.

The market size of silicon carbide components

01 CVD silicon carbide components

CVD silicon carbide components are widely used in etching equipment, MOCVD equipment, SiC epitaxial equipment, and rapid heat treatment equipment, among others.

Etching equipment: The largest market segment for CVD silicon carbide components is etching equipment. CVD silicon carbide components in etching equipment include focusing rings, gas spray heads, trays, edge rings, etc. Due to the low reactivity and conductivity of CVD silicon carbide towards chlorine- and fluorine-containing etching gases, it makes it an ideal material for components such as focusing rings in plasma etching equipment.

Silicon carbide focusing ring

Graphite base coating: Low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is currently the most effective process for preparing dense SiC coatings. The CVD-SiC coating has the advantages of controllable thickness and uniformity. SiC coated graphite substrates are often used as components in metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) equipment to support and heat single crystal substrates, and are the core key components of MOCVD equipment.

02 Reaction Sintering of Silicon Carbide Components

SiC materials subjected to reaction sintering (reaction melting infiltration or reaction bonding) can have a shrinkage rate of the sintering line controlled below 1%. At the same time, the sintering temperature is relatively low, which significantly reduces the requirements for deformation control and sintering equipment. Therefore, this technology has the advantage of facilitating the large-scale fabrication of components, and has been widely applied in the fields of optical and precision structure manufacturing.

For certain high-performance optical components in key manufacturing equipment for integrated circuits, there are strict requirements for material preparation. By using the method of reactive sintering of silicon carbide substrate combined with chemical vapor deposition of silicon carbide (CVDSiC) film layer to fabricate high-performance reflectors, by optimizing key process parameters such as precursor types, deposition temperature, deposition pressure, reaction gas ratio, gas flow field, and temperature field, large-area and uniform CVD SiC film layers can be prepared, enabling the mirror surface accuracy to approach the performance indicators of similar products from abroad.

Silicon carbide optical mirrors for lithography machines

The experts from the China Academy of Building Materials Science and Technology have successfully developed a proprietary preparation technology, enabling the production of large-sized, complex-shaped, highly lightweight, fully enclosed lithography machine-use silicon carbide ceramic square mirrors and other structural and functional optical components.

The performance of reaction-sintered silicon carbide developed by the China Academy of Building Materials Science and Technology is comparable to that of similar products from foreign enterprises.

At present, the companies that are leading in the research and application of precision ceramic components for the core equipment of integrated circuits abroad include Kyocera of Japan, CoorsTek of the United States, and BERLINER GLAS of Germany, among others. Among them, Kyocera and CoorsTek account for 70% of the market share of high-end precision ceramic components used in integrated circuit core equipment. In China, there are China National Building Research Institute, Ningbo Volkerkunst, etc. Our country started relatively late in the research on the preparation technology and application promotion of precision silicon carbide components for integrated circuit equipment, and still has a gap compared with international leading enterprises.

As a pioneer in advanced silicon carbide component manufacturing, ZMSH has established itself as a comprehensive solutions provider for precision SiC products, offering end-to-end capabilities from customized SiC mechanical parts to high-performance substrates and ceramic components. Leveraging proprietary pressureless sintering and CNC machining technologies, we deliver tailored SiC solutions with exceptional thermal conductivity (170-230 W/m·K) and mechanical strength (flexural strength ≥400MPa), serving demanding applications across semiconductor equipment, electric vehicle power systems, and aerospace thermal management. Our vertically integrated production covers the entire value chain - from high-purity SiC powder synthesis to complex near-net-shape ceramic component fabrication - enabling precise customization of dimensional tolerances (up to ±5μm) and surface finishes (Ra≤0.1μm) for both standard and application-specific designs. The company's automotive-qualified 6-inch/8-inch SiC substrates feature best-in-class micropipe densities (<1 cm⁻²) and TTV control (<10μm), while our reaction-bonded SiC ceramic products demonstrate superior corrosion resistance in extreme chemical environments. With in-house capabilities spanning CVD coating, laser machining, and non-destructive testing, ZMSH provides complete technical support from prototype development to volume production, helping clients overcome material challenges in high-temperature, high-power, and high-wear operational conditions.

The following is SiC ceramic tray plate of ZMSH:

* Please contact us for any copyright concerns, and we will promptly address them.