Design engineers can expect
increasing opportunities to use ceramics for demanding applications as new
high-performance grades emerge and high-level players develop processing
capabilities.
CoorsTek opened a specialty materials center in Golden, CO that
focuses on developing next-generation ceramic materials for applications in
high-technology markets including semiconductor, electronics, laser, advanced
armor, medical and several others. New processing, manufacturing, finishing
and materials analysis equipment were added to enable ultra-high material
purities, increased material characterization detail, faster material
development cycles and expanded advanced processing capabilities.
"Our ultra-pure ceramic
materials capability will support nearly all of our industries - especially the
stringent demands of the semiconductor manufacturing market as they move beyond
45 nm devices," says Frank Anderson, director of technology for CoorsTek.
HIGH-PURITY ALUMINA
CoorsTek developed an
ultra-high-purity ceramic material designed specifically for extreme-duty
semiconductor applications. In addition to very high purity, PlasmaPure-UC
alumina offers high etch resistance in corrosive chemistries, very low sodium content
and an extremely low dielectric loss tangent of <0.00002. The fine-grained
material also possesses four times better corrosion resistance and six times
lower sodium content than competitive alumina materials. "Outstanding
material property data and very positive customer trials have proven the
material quite effective at extending component life and greatly reducing
contamination," says Mark Petty, executive vice president of CoorsTek, Inc.
FIGHTS ABRASION
The Ceradyne Stack
Bearing is a hydrodynamic pad-type
bearing that uses a rotating runner. The wear surfaces use an advanced grade of
silicon carbide that is 50 percent tougher than other grades of silicon
carbide. Ceradyne says the hardness of the material prevents abrasive failure
in highly demanding applications such as oil and gas drilling where rolling
element bearings are often used. "The abrasives simply polish the SiC
surfaces," says Russ C. Ide, new products manager at Ceradyne and an inventor
of the system. "The significant technological improvement lies in the patented
spring mounting component that allows each pad to develop an optimum fluid
wedge, equally load each pad in a bearing and then equalize the loading among a
stack of bearings and runners."
COMPLEX DESIGNS
Strong potential for ceramic
components is attracting new suppliers such as Phillips Plastics of Prescott,
WI, which is applying precision mold-making and processing capabilities to
ceramic injection molding. The combination of ceramics with the injection molding
process provides several benefits to design engineers, including production of
small, highly complex geometries not possible with other ceramic forming
processes, high strength, superior corrosion resistance, excellent surface
finish and consolidation of multiple components into a single design.
| Ceramics for Molding |
AO-F 99.8% pure alumina: For parts that
require good wear and
corrosion resistance,
such as in chemical
operations and industrial
machinery. Maximum
temperature of use:
1600° C.
|
AO-H 96% pure alumina: For parts that
require good wear and
corrosion resistance,
such as in electrically
insulating bodies and
the vacuum industry. Maximum
temperature
of use: 1200° C.
|
ZTA-FB 99.8% pure alumina toughened with
zirconia:
For demanding applications where the
strength of alumina is
insufficient. Available in
white and black. Maximum
temperature of
use: 400° C.
|
TZP-A zirconia: For parts with excellent surface
quality requirements and
reproduction of fine
details. Delivers good wear
resistance and high
strength in such
applications as biomedical,
micro-engineering, and fiber
optics. Maximum
temperature of use: up to
400° C.
Source: Phillips Plastics
|
Tweet This
4 
