Application of Alumina Ceramic Valve Plate in Semiconductor Vacuum Valve

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In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, the stability and purity of the vacuum environment are crucial to product quality. As a key component for controlling the flow and sealing of gases in vacuum systems, the performance of vacuum valves directly affects the quality and production efficiency of semiconductor products. Alumina ceramic valves have become the core choice in semiconductor vacuum valves due to their excellent performance.

1. Sealing performance
   The alumina ceramic valve plate has a unique microstructure, and its internal crystals are arranged tightly and orderly, with almost no obvious pores or defects. This dense structure makes it difficult for gas molecules to penetrate the valve plate, thus providing excellent sealing performance for the vacuum valve. Compared with traditional rubber or metal sealing materials, the gas penetration rate of the alumina ceramic valve plate can be reduced to one thousandth or even lower, which greatly improves the sealing reliability of the vacuum system.
2. Chemical stability
   During the semiconductor manufacturing process, the vacuum system may come into contact with various corrosive gases and chemical reagents, such as fluoride gas used in the etching process. Ordinary sealing materials are prone to aging and corrosion under the long-term action of these corrosive media, resulting in a decrease in sealing performance. Alumina ceramics, on the other hand, have excellent chemical stability and are highly resistant to most chemical substances, capable of maintaining the integrity and sealing performance of the valve in harsh chemical environments. This makes the service life of the alumina ceramic valve in the semiconductor vacuum valve greatly extended, reducing the equipment downtime caused by the replacement of sealing parts, and improving production efficiency.

1. High temperature resistance
   In some processes of semiconductor manufacturing, such as high temperature annealing, epitaxial growth, etc., the vacuum system needs to withstand higher temperatures, up to several hundred degrees or even higher. Alumina ceramic valves can withstand high temperatures up to 1600 ° C. Under high temperature environments, their physical and chemical properties remain stable without softening, deformation or sealing performance degradation. This feature ensures that the vacuum valve can still work reliably during high temperature processes, maintaining the stability of the vacuum system and meeting the strict requirements of semiconductor manufacturing for vacuum sealing in high temperature environments.

1. Application scenarios
   Alumina ceramic valves are widely used in several key aspects of semiconductor manufacturing, including:

• Wafer transfer system: The vacuum transfer system of a 12-inch wafer factory once increased the wafer scrap rate due to the shedding of metal valve particles. After upgrading to alumina ceramic valves and surface nickel plating, particle pollution was reduced by 98% and the yield was increased by 1.2 percentage points.
• Etching equipment: A semiconductor etching equipment manufacturer once failed to seal metal valves at high temperatures, resulting in frequent equipment downtime. After using high-temperature resistant ceramic valves, the equipment ran continuously for 5,000 hours without failure, and the maintenance period was extended by 4 times.

1. Technical parameters
   Alumina purity: ≥ 99.5%
   Bending strength: 313MPa
   Compressive strength: 1961MPa
   Coefficient of thermal expansion: 7.3
   Operating temperature range: -50 to + 1600 ° C

The application of alumina ceramic valves in semiconductor vacuum valves can not only effectively improve the sealing performance and chemical stability of the vacuum system, but also maintain reliable operation in high temperature environments. Its high purity, high hardness and low gas penetration rate make it an indispensable key material in semiconductor manufacturing.