What is Silicon Carbide(SiC)Ceramic Wafer Boat?

In semiconductor high-temperature processes, the handling, supporting, and thermal treatment of wafers rely on a special supporting component—the wafer boat. As process temperatures rise and cleanliness and particle control requirements increase, traditional quartz wafer boats gradually reveal issues such as short service life, high deformation rates, and poor corrosion resistance. Silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic wafer boats emerged in this context and have become a key carrier in high-end thermal processing equipment.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an engineering ceramic material that combines high hardness, high thermal conductivity, and excellent chemical stability. SiC ceramics, formed through high-temperature sintering, not only exhibit superior thermal shock resistance but also maintain stable structure and size in oxidizing and corrosive environments. As a result, when fabricated into wafer boat form, it can reliably support high-temperature processes such as diffusion, annealing, and oxidation, making it particularly suitable for thermal processes operating at temperatures above 1100°C.

The structure of wafer boats is usually designed with a multi-layered, parallel grid configuration, capable of holding dozens or even hundreds of wafers simultaneously. The advantages of SiC ceramics in controlling thermal expansion coefficients make them less prone to thermal deformation or microcracking during high-temperature ramp-up and ramp-down processes. In addition, the metal impurity content can be strictly controlled, significantly reducing contamination risks at high temperatures. This makes them highly suitable for processes that are extremely sensitive to cleanliness, such as the manufacturing of power devices, SiC MOSFETs, MEMS, and other products.

Compared to traditional quartz wafer boats, silicon carbide ceramic wafer boats typically have a service life 3-5 times longer under high-temperature, frequent thermal cycling conditions. Their higher rigidity and resistance to deformation allow for more stable wafer alignment, which helps improve yield. More importantly, SiC materials maintain minimal dimensional changes during frequent heating and cooling cycles, reducing wafer edge chipping or particle shedding caused by wafer boat deformation.

In terms of manufacturing, silicon carbide wafer boats are typically produced through reaction sintering (RBSiC), dense sintering (SSiC), or pressure-assisted sintering. Some high-end products also use precision CNC machining and surface polishing to meet wafer-level precision requirements. The technical differences in formula control, impurity management, and sintering processes between different manufacturers directly affect the final performance of the wafer boats.

In industrial applications, silicon carbide ceramic wafer boats are gradually becoming the preferred choice for high-end equipment manufacturers in thermal processing processes, from traditional silicon devices to third-generation semiconductor materials. They are not only suitable for various thermal processing equipment, such as vertical tube furnaces and horizontal oxidation furnaces, but their stable performance in high-temperature, highly corrosive environments also provides stronger guarantees for process consistency and equipment capacity.

The gradual popularization of silicon carbide ceramic wafer boats marks the acceleration of advanced ceramic materials penetrating the core support components of semiconductor equipment. Compared to traditional quartz materials, their advantages in high-temperature stability, structural rigidity, and thermal fatigue resistance provide a reliable material foundation for the continued evolution of higher temperatures and more stringent process windows. Currently, 6-inch and 8-inch silicon carbide ceramic wafer boats are widely used in the mass production thermal treatment processes of power devices in the semiconductor industry. The 12-inch specification is gradually being introduced into high-end processes and advanced production lines, becoming an important direction for the next phase of equipment and material collaboration. At the same time, 2-4 inch wafer boats continue to play a role in research platforms and specific process scenarios, such as LED substrate processing and process verification. Silicon carbide ceramic wafer boats will demonstrate greater advantages in stability, size control, and wafer capacity, driving the continuous evolution of related ceramic materials technology.