Alumina Ceramics – An Indispensable Key Material in the Field of High-End Precision Manufacturing
In recent years, lithography machines have indeed been a buzzword, attracting significant attention both within and outside the industry. When it comes to lithography machines, people may first think of silicon carbide (SiC). As a third-generation semiconductor material, silicon carbide has quickly emerged as one of the most high-profile materials.
However, in reality, within the large-scale equipment system of lithography machines, there is another type of key material quietly playing a crucial role—alumina ceramics. If silicon carbide is a "new partner" in the semiconductor field, then alumina ceramics is undoubtedly a "veteran contributor" and "backbone force" in the electronic materials field. Thanks to its excellent comprehensive performance, alumina ceramics has become one of the preferred materials for key structural components in many high-precision devices.
❶Preparation Technology of Key Components
The integrated circuit industry (IC industry) is a strategic industry that concerns the national economy, politics, and defense security. In addition to advanced design and precision control technology, the development of key equipment for integrated circuits is also severely constrained by the preparation technology of key components, which seriously affects the localization process of advanced manufacturing equipment for integrated circuits.
❷Alumina ceramics are widely used in the field of high-end precision instruments
Alumina ceramics possess a high elastic modulus and specific stiffness, are not prone to deformation, and have a low coefficient of thermal expansion along with high thermal stability. As an excellent structural material, they have been widely used in fields such as aerospace, petrochemical engineering, machinery manufacturing, nuclear industry, and microelectronics industry.
However, since the atomic bonding of alumina ceramic materials is mainly ionic bonds with some covalent bonds, they exhibit extremely high hardness and significant brittleness, making precision machining difficult. In addition, alumina has a high melting point, which makes it hard to achieve dense and near-net-shape sintering. Therefore, the preparation of large-sized, complex-shaped special hollow structural alumina components with high precision is quite challenging, which limits the wide application of alumina ceramics in the manufacturing of high-end equipment such as integrated circuits.
❸Alumina Ceramic Guide Rails Contribute to Achieving Motion Precision and Long-Term Stability
In ultra-precision equipment such as lithography machines, alumina ceramic guide rails play a crucial role. They are key foundational components that enable the equipment to achieve nanoscale ultra-precision motion with high speed, large stroke, and six degrees of freedom, as well as long-term stability.
Achieve ultra-high-speed, ultra-stable nanoscale motion
The workpiece stage of a lithography machine needs to move with a mask or wafer at extremely high acceleration and speed, and stop accurately at a nanoscale positioning point in an instant.
Alumina ceramics have a high elastic modulus, which means they undergo minimal deformation under load. When used as guide rails, they can provide an extremely stable reference for the entire motion system, resist force-induced deformation caused by motion acceleration, and ensure the straightness and flatness of the motion trajectory.
Provide stable thermomechanical properties
During the operation of a lithography machine, components such as motors and drivers generate heat, causing slight fluctuations in the ambient temperature. Thermal expansion of any material directly leads to positioning errors. Compared with most metals (e.g., aerospace aluminum) and granite, alumina ceramics have a lower coefficient of thermal expansion. This means that under the same temperature fluctuations, the deformation of ceramic guide rails is much smaller than that of guide rails made of other materials, providing a more stable and reliable thermomechanical reference for the entire motion system.
Excellent Chemical and Physical Stability
Alumina ceramics possess excellent vacuum performance, corrosion resistance, and good insulation properties, making them highly suitable for use as insulating structural components and vacuum chamber parts in semiconductors and optoelectronic devices, and ensuring long-term reliability of the equipment.