What is AlN Heater

Aluminum Nitride (AlN) ceramic heater for semiconductor is a device used to heat semiconductor materials. It is mainly made of aluminum nitride ceramic material, has excellent thermal conductivity and high temperature resistance, and can operate stably at high temperatures. The AlN heater usually uses a resistance wire as a heating element. By energizing the resistance wire to heat up, the heat is transferred to the surface of the heater to heat the semiconductor material. AlN heater for semiconductor plays an important role in the semiconductor production process and can be used in processes such as crystal growth, annealing, and baking. The global AlN heater market for semiconductors reached US$535.05 million in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 7.13%. It is expected that the market size will reach US$848.21 million in 2029, with a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 6.72% from 2023 to 2029.

Technical Difficulties in Processing AlN Heater

1. During the processing of AlN Heater, it is easy to break and collapse due to changes in the internal stress of the material, thus affecting the qualified rate of the finished product. The production of aluminum nitride ceramic materials is not easy, and the low yield rate of AlN Heater is also one of the important reasons for the high price of aluminum nitride ceramic heating plates.

2. The problem of aluminum nitride ceramic materials themselves. Because in the aluminum nitride ceramic material production industry, the structure of the material itself will change accordingly under different temperature and environmental conditions. The production of aluminum nitride ceramic materials itself is a relatively difficult task. The low quality of the material is also an important reason for the low qualified rate of AlN Heater.

Factors Affecting Thermal Conductivity

The main factors affecting the thermal conductivity of aluminum nitride ceramics are lattice density, oxygen content, powder purity, microstructure, etc., which will affect the thermal conductivity of aluminum nitride ceramics.

Density of lattice

According to the thermal conductivity of aluminum nitride ceramic materials, the presence of a large number of pores in low-density samples will affect the scattering of phonons, reduce their mean free path, and thus reduce the thermal conductivity of aluminum nitride ceramics. At the same time, the mechanical properties of low-density samples may not meet the relevant application requirements. Therefore, high density is the prerequisite for aluminum nitride ceramics to have high thermal conductivity.

Oxygen content and impurities

For aluminum nitride ceramics, due to its strong affinity for oxygen, oxygen impurities are easy to diffuse into the AlN lattice during the sintering process, which is directly related to a variety of defects and is the main source of influence on the thermal conductivity of aluminum nitride. In the scattering of phonons-defects, the main role is played by the presence of impurity oxygen and aluminum oxide. Since aluminum nitride is easy to hydrolyze and oxidize, a layer of aluminum oxide film is formed on the surface, and aluminum oxide dissolves into the aluminum nitride lattice to produce aluminum vacancies.

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