The main component of quartz glass is silica. Its microstructure is a network skeleton structure composed simply of [SiO4] tetrahedrons as structural units. The Si-O bond is very strong and the structure is very solid, so it has unique and excellent properties. , has superior properties such as high light transmittance, high temperature resistance, low expansion coefficient, strong chemical stability, high purity, and strong electrical insulation. It is widely used in high-end manufacturing fields such as aerospace, optical fiber, and semiconductors.
Quartz glass types are divided into ultraviolet quartz glass, visible quartz glass, and infrared quartz glass according to light transmittance performance (building materials industry standard JC/T 185-2013 quartz glass). The corresponding grades are ZS, KS, and HS; according to the process method, they are divided into UV quartz glass, visible quartz glass, and infrared quartz glass. Fused quartz glass, gas tempered quartz glass, synthetic quartz glass, plasma quartz glass; according to use and appearance, it is divided into transparent quartz glass, opaque quartz glass, optical quartz glass, quartz glass for semiconductors, quartz glass for electric light sources, etc.; according to use and appearance Purity is divided into three categories: high purity, ordinary and doped.
Quartz sand is an important raw material in the quartz glass materials and products industry, and its price directly affects production costs. Based on quality and downstream markets, raw materials are roughly divided into ordinary quartz sand and high-purity quartz sand for the electronic information field. The raw materials are crushed, washed, dried, hydrolyzed, synthesized and other processes to form quartz glass. Among them, lower quality opaque quartz glass is mostly used to prepare quartz crucibles. Transparent quartz glass and higher quality synthetic quartz glass are further processed to form quartz fiber, Quartz products such as quartz tubes, quartz rods, and quartz ingots are used in downstream markets such as aerospace and semiconductors.
Application of quartz glass in semiconductor field
Quartz components for semiconductors can generally be divided into high-temperature area devices and low-temperature area devices, which are respectively used in high-temperature processes such as diffusion and oxidation and low-temperature processes such as etching, packaging, photolithography, and cleaning.
Synthetic quartz glass has extremely high purity and excellent optical properties. It can be made into flat plates of different sizes according to the specifications. After metal coating, etching and burning, it is made into a photomask substrate. The photomask carries a complete integrated circuit design. Graphics, the integrated circuit design pattern can be transferred to the wafer through the photolithography process.
Quartz components are a technology-intensive industry. In the field of high-end products such as semiconductor applications, there are high barriers to technological accumulation and professional talent reserves. Since the quartz component industry has the characteristics of small batches and many varieties, it requires customized production for equipment manufacturers, and downstream applications usually require certification by high-end equipment companies, which also increases the difficulty for new companies’ products to enter the market. However, although there are still certain industry barriers in the quartz component industry, with the accelerated development of the semiconductor industry and the continuous expansion of downstream application fields such as 5G and big data, as an important auxiliary material for high-end manufacturing, the market for quartz materials and products will also rapidly expand. Growth, new technologies and new business formats will provide potential market space for enterprise development.