Application of silicon carbide ceramics in the semiconductor field

The preferred material for precision parts of photolithography machines

In the semiconductor field, silicon carbide ceramic materials are mainly used in key equipment for integrated circuit manufacturing, such as silicon carbide worktable, guide rails, reflectors, ceramic suction chuck, arms, grinding discs, fixtures, etc. for lithography machines.

Silicon carbide ceramic parts for semiconductor and optical equipment

● Silicon carbide ceramic grinding disc. If the grinding disc is made of cast iron or carbon steel, its service life is short and its thermal expansion coefficient is large. During the processing of silicon wafers, especially during high-speed grinding or polishing, the wear and thermal deformation of the grinding disc make it difficult to ensure the flatness and parallelism of the silicon wafer. The grinding disc made of silicon carbide ceramics has high hardness and low wear, and the thermal expansion coefficient is basically the same as that of silicon wafers, so it can be ground and polished at high speed.
● Silicon carbide ceramic fixture. In addition, when silicon wafers are produced, they need to undergo high-temperature heat treatment and are often transported using silicon carbide fixtures. They are heat-resistant and non-destructive. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) and other coatings can be applied on the surface to enhance performance, alleviate wafer damage, and prevent contamination from spreading.
● Silicon carbide worktable. Taking the worktable in the lithography machine as an example, the worktable is mainly responsible for completing the exposure movement, requiring high-speed, large-stroke, six-degree-of-freedom nano-level ultra-precision movement. For example, for a lithography machine with a resolution of 100nm, an overlay accuracy of 33nm, and a line width of 10nm, the worktable positioning accuracy is required to reach 10nm, the mask-silicon wafer simultaneous stepping and scanning speeds are 150nm/s and 120nm/s respectively, and the mask scanning speed is close to 500nm/s, and the worktable is required to have very high motion accuracy and stability.

Schematic diagram of the worktable and micro-motion table (partial section)

● Silicon carbide ceramic square mirror. Key components in key integrated circuit equipment such as lithography machines have complex shapes, complex dimensions, and hollow lightweight structures, making it difficult to prepare such silicon carbide ceramic components. Currently, mainstream international integrated circuit equipment manufacturers, such as ASML in the Netherlands, NIKON and CANON in Japan, use a large amount of materials such as microcrystalline glass and cordierite to prepare square mirrors, the core components of lithography machines, and use silicon carbide ceramics to prepare other high-performance structural components with simple shapes. However, experts from the China Building Materials Research Institute have used proprietary preparation technology to achieve the preparation of large-size, complex-shaped, highly lightweight, fully enclosed silicon carbide ceramic square mirrors and other structural and functional optical components for lithography machines.