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What are the advantages of AlN (aluminum nitride) ceramic substrates as semiconductor packaging materials？
The global ceramic substrate market is experiencing steady growth, with a market size of $6.59 billion in 2021, projected to reach $10.96 billion by 2029, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 6.57%. As traditional aluminum oxide (Al2O3) ceramic substrates become less suitable for packaging in modern IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) modules, materials like aluminum nitride (AlN) and silicon nitride (Si3N4) are gradually taking their place.
One of the primary advantages of AlN ceramic substrates lies in their thermal conductivity, which significantly surpasses that of aluminum oxide substrates. With thermal conductivity rates ranging from 150 W·m−1·K−1 to 230 W·m−1·K−1, AlN substrates exhibit over eight times the thermal conductivity of Al2O3 ceramics. This exceptional thermal performance, combined with excellent compatibility in thermal expansion coefficients with semiconductor chip materials such as silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium arsenide (GaAs), makes AlN an ideal choice for high-performance ceramic substrates. Their superior heat dissipation capabilities, low dielectric constant and loss, non-toxicity, and corrosion resistance position AlN as a promising replacement for traditional ceramic substrates used in the electronics industry, including Al2O3, SiC, and beryllium oxide (BeO).
From a structural perspective, AlN ceramic substrates offer significant advantages in simplifying design processes, reducing overall thermal resistance, enhancing reliability, increasing wiring density, and achieving successful integration between substrate and packaging. The thermal expansion coefficient of AlN is closely aligned with that of silicon, allowing various integrated circuit (IC) chips and high-power devices to be directly mounted on AlN ceramic substrates, facilitating efficient chip packaging. As a result, the application prospects for AlN substrates in power IGBT module packaging appear exceptionally bright.
The versatility of AlN ceramic materials extends to various applications, including copper-clad substrates, electronic packaging, ultra-high-temperature devices, high-power device platforms, high-frequency devices, sensor films, optical electronic devices, and coatings.
Widespread Applications in LED Packaging
In addition to its uses in semiconductor packaging, AlN ceramic substrates are also extensively applied in LED packaging. The low thermal expansion coefficient of AlN, theoretically measured at 4.6×10-6/K, closely matches that of commonly used LED materials like silicon and GaAs, which further supports its application in this field. As input power levels for LED chips continually rise, the packaging technology for these high-power LEDs faces increasing demands. The excellent thermal and insulating properties of AlN ceramics enhance LED power levels and luminous efficiency. Moreover, the lattice matching between AlN and gallium nitride (GaN) contributes to effective bonding between chip and substrate during the manufacturing process of high-power LEDs, ensuring optimal performance.
AlN ceramics boast a wide band gap of 6.2 eV, providing excellent insulation, which eliminates the need for additional insulation treatments in high-power LED applications. This simplifies the overall manufacturing process.
Precision Processing Demands in High-End Industries
High-end industries require precise mechanical processing of AlN ceramic substrates, particularly in polishing, where strict standards are applied to thickness, surface flatness, and roughness. However, due to the high hardness, brittleness, and susceptibility to hydrolysis of AlN ceramics, achieving an ultra-smooth surface through traditional mechanical polishing methods poses significant challenges.
As the demand for advanced packaging materials in semiconductor and LED technologies continues to rise, aluminum nitride ceramic substrates are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of these industries. Their superior properties and versatility make them an attractive option for manufacturers looking to enhance performance and reliability in their products.
At present, in order to obtain aluminum nitride ceramic substrates with high surface quality, ultra-precision machining methods such as chemical mechanical polishing, magnetorheological polishing, ELID grinding, laser processing, plasma-assisted polishing and composite polishing are mainly used.
Among them, the most mainstream polishing method is the CMP chemical mechanical polishing method.
Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) is currently the most widely used global planarization technique in the semiconductor industry. The process device is mainly composed of three parts: a rotating polishing disc, a specimen clamper and a polishing slurry conveying device. The polishing pad is pasted on the polishing pad and rotates itself, and the external carrier applies positive pressure to the wafer, so that there is a suitable positive pressure between the wafer and the polishing pad, and relative motion can be generated. At present, a series of progress has been made in the CMP research of aluminum nitride ceramics.
At present, our company has customized and developed nano-level alumina polishing slurry for aluminum nitride ceramic substrates; This nano-scale alumina polishing paste developed for aluminum nitride ceramic substrate has been well received by customers in the market, and can help customers achieve nano-level precision on the surface of aluminum nitride ceramic substrate.
