In the manufacturing of semiconductor equipment, advanced ceramics play a crucial role as key component materials. Among various ceramic materials, alumina ceramics are widely used in semiconductor equipment due to their stable material structure, high mechanical strength, high hardness, high melting point, corrosion resistance, excellent chemical stability, high resistivity, and good electrical insulation properties.In semiconductor etching equipment, as the integration level of large-scale integrated circuits continues to increase and the feature sizes of semiconductors continue to shrink, plasma etching technology faces many new challenges, such as contamination issues caused by plasma etching of wafers, stability of the etching process, and the application range of etching technology. The materials used in the etching chamber are a major source of wafer contamination, and the extent to which plasma etching affects them determines the yield, quality, and stability of the etching process. Therefore, researching and developing an extremely etch-resistant chamber material has become a highly challenging task in the semiconductor integration industry and plasma etching technology. Currently, high-purityAl2O3 coatings or Al2O3 ceramics are used as protective materials for etching chambers and internal components. In addition to the chamber, alumina ceramics are also required for the gas nozzles, gas distribution plates, and wafer holding rings in plasma equipment.
For example, in the wafer polishing process, alumina ceramics can be widely used in polishing plates, polishing pad correction platforms, vacuum suction cups, etc.
(High-purity alumina polishing plate, source: Kyocera, Japan)Additionally, ceramic robotic arms in semiconductor equipment play a handling role, acting as the “hand” of the semiconductor equipment robot, responsible for transporting silicon wafers to designated locations. Since silicon wafers are extremely susceptible to contamination from other particles, they are generally handled in a vacuum environment. Both alumina ceramics and silicon carbide ceramics possess physical properties such as high density, high hardness, high wear resistance, as well as good thermal resistance, excellent mechanical strength, good insulation in high-temperature environments, and good corrosion resistance, making them excellent materials for manufacturing robotic arms in semiconductor equipment. From a material property perspective, silicon carbide ceramics are more suitable for making ceramic robotic arms, but in terms of cost-effectiveness and processing difficulty, alumina ceramic robotic arms offer a better price-performance ratio.
(Alumina/Silicon carbide robotic arm, source: Kyocera, Japan)In recent years, with the adjustment of national policies, the semiconductor industry has rapidly developed, and the industry scale has expanded rapidly. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment continues to evolve towards precision and complexity, and the technical requirements for high-precision ceramic key components are also increasing. Currently, there are hundreds of semiconductor design and manufacturing companies in China, but most semiconductor equipment and key precision components rely on imports, which greatly restricts the development of the domestic semiconductor industry. The value of high-precision ceramic components accounts for more than 10％ of semiconductor equipment, with a global market of approximately 10 billion USD, almost entirely monopolized by foreign companies from the United States, Japan, and South Korea. For China’s semiconductor industry to achieve high-quality development, it must possess its own key core technologies and industrial resource support, and develop alumina precision ceramic products for semiconductor equipment, which holds significant economic and strategic value.
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