China Pressureless Sintering Silicon Carbide Manufacturers, Suppliers, Factory

Worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased 5 percent from $102.6 billion in 2021 to an all-time record of $107.6 billion last year, SEMI, the industry association representing the global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain.

In the semiconductor industry, epitaxial layers play a crucial role by forming specific single-crystal thin films atop a wafer substrate, collectively known as epitaxial wafers. Particularly, silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial layers grown on conductive SiC substrates produce homogenous SiC epitaxial wafers, which are instrumental in the fabrication of power devices such as Schottky diodes, MOSFETs, and IGBTs, with 4H-SiC substrates being the most widely utilized.

Crystal growth is the core link in the production of Silicon Carbide substrates, and the core equipment is the crystal growth furnace. Similar to traditional crystalline silicon-grade crystal growth furnaces, the furnace structure is not very complex and mainly consists of a furnace body, a heating system, a coil transmission mechanism, a vacuum acquisition and measurement system, a gas path system, a cooling system, a control system, etc., among which Thermal field and process conditions determine the quality, size, conductive properties and other key indicators of Silicon Carbide crystals.

Silicon carbide ceramics offer numerous advantages in the optical fiber industry, including high-temperature stability, low thermal expansion coefficient, low loss and damage threshold, mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, good thermal conductivity, and low dielectric constant. These properties make SiC ceramics an ideal material for fiber optic sensors, lasers, and high-power optical fiber applications. As demand in the optical fiber field increases, the application prospects for silicon carbide ceramics will become increasingly prominent.

Currently, many semiconductor devices employ mesa device structures, which are predominantly created through two types of etching: wet etching and dry etching. While the simple and rapid wet etching plays a significant role in semiconductor device fabrication, it has inherent drawbacks such as isotropic etching and poor uniformity, which result in limited control when transferring small-sized patterns. Dry etching, however, with its high anisotropy, good uniformity, and repeatability, has become prominent in semiconductor device fabrication processes. The term “dry etching” broadly refers to any non-wet etching technology used for removing surface materials and transferring micro and nano patterns, including laser etching, plasma etching, and chemical vapor etching. The dry etching discussed in this text specifically pertains to the narrow application of processes using plasma discharge—either physical or chemical—to modify material surfaces.

Semiconductor technology has been the backbone of modern civilization, fundamentally transforming the way we live, work, and interact with the world. It has enabled unprecedented advancements in various fields including information technology, energy, telecommunications, and healthcare. From the microprocessors that power our smartphones and computers, to the sensors in medical devices, and the power electronics in renewable energy systems, semiconductors are at the core of nearly every technological innovation of the past century.