SiC Ceramic Boats

Semicorex SiC ceramic boats are state-of-the-art carriers specially designed to safely transport, store and process semiconductor wafers in the most demanding chemically and thermally extreme environments. The semiconductor industry has rapidly adopted new performance standards that have required SiC ceramic boats to reliably, trustingly, and contamination-free achieve the intolerant and critical demands for the modern wafer fabrication processes.

Strong Thermal Stability and Strength

The defining attribute of SiC ceramic boats is its very high thermal stability. SiC ceramic boats can endure temperature in excess of 1600°C without losing their shape or structure during aggressive thermal cycling processes. Due to the ultra-low thermal expansion coefficient, SiC ceramic boats are less prone to distortion and cracking, allowing for tight tolerances and overall wafer safety during handling under stiff conditions.

High Purity and Chemical Resistance

SiC ceramic boats are fabricated out of ultra-high purity silicon carbide. SiC ceramic boats are also highly resistant to chemical degradation, corrosive, and eroding plasma. The inert nature of SiC ceramic boats means processes of corrosive gases, reactive environments, acidic conditions would form either no contamination from the boat or nothing soluble to harm the working process. The non-contaminating surface of SiC ceramic boats enables no particle generation or ion leaching thus a wafer surface is not jeopardized by impurities that hinder device performance or yield.

Precision Engineering for Safe and Secure Wafer Handling

SiC ceramic boats are manufactured within tight tolerances, allowing them to handle wafers of various diameters, including 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, and more. The structural design of SiC boats provides excellent flatness, parallelism, and uniform slot size to maintain proper wafer lapping orientation and protect the edges of the wafer when transferring to another process or tool. All SiC boats can be designed with custom dimensions to match the tool set or meet any automation specifications.

Long Lifetime and More Cost Efficient

SiC replaces traditional materials (quartz, alumina) with significantly improved mechanical strength, fracture toughness and thermal shock resistance. This level of durability translates to a longer lifetime before "failure," significantly fewer replacements during operation, and lower total cost of ownership. The consistency in performance from durability of SiC will reduce down times and speed up throughput on semiconductor manufacturing lines.

Open Applications in Semiconductor Processes

SiC ceramic boats are widely used in front-end semiconductor processes such as:

LPCVD and PECVD deposition

Thermal oxidation

Ion implantation

Annealing and diffusion

Wafer cleaning and chemical processing

SiC ceramic handles have compatible processing applications in both atmosphere and vacuum process chambers, making it an ideal choice for foundries and fabs looking to minimize and reduce risk of contamination while enhancing productivity.