Ceramic Gas Injector Additive Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas injectors used in semiconductor fabrication, made from bulk ceramics, suffer from depth of damage (DoD) due to machining methods like grinding, which leads to microcracking and wafer defects, and are challenging to control, limiting design and performance.
Innovation Solution
A ceramic gas injector is fabricated using additive manufacturing (AM) with a conformal channel design and a collar structure, where the conformal channel extends into the collar, reducing material thickness and minimizing DoD to less than 1 micron, and the injector is formed from ceramic materials with precise control over grain size and surface morphology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional machining methods (grinding) are used to fabricate ceramic gas injectors, then the injector can be manufactured with existing equipment, but depth of damage (microcracking and pulverization) occurs in the ceramic material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical machining methods (grinding) with additive manufacturing technology to fabricate ceramic gas injectors. This substitution eliminates the mechanical contact that causes depth of damage, microcracking, and pulverization while maintaining manufacturability through layer-by-layer material deposition and sintering processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental manufacturing parameter from subtractive mechanical removal to additive layer-by-layer construction. By controlling deposition parameters, sintering temperature, and material composition during additive manufacturing, the process achieves damage-free ceramic components with precise dimensional control.
2Strength
If bulk ceramic materials are used for gas injectors, then the material provides sufficient strength and durability, but machining-induced damage limits design flexibility and performance optimization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables different regions of the gas injector to have optimized local properties through additive manufacturing. Complex internal conformal channels can be created with precise control over wall thickness, channel geometry, and material distribution, allowing each region to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional 3D bulk ceramic geometry to 4D manufacturing by adding the dimension of process control over internal architecture. Conformal channels can be designed with varying cross-sections, orientations, and complexities that are impossible with traditional machining, enabling optimized gas flow patterns and thermal management.
3Device complexity
If conventional machining is used to create conformal channels in ceramic injectors, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the channels cannot achieve true conformality and smooth surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical drilling and routing operations with additive manufacturing to create conformal channels. This substitution enables true conformality where channel walls smoothly follow complex curved paths, with surface smoothness determined by layer thickness and sintering quality rather than mechanical tool paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the inherent capability of additive manufacturing to create smooth curved geometries. Conformal channels are built with continuous curved walls that follow optimal flow paths, eliminating the sharp edges and discontinuities inherent in machined channels. The layer-by-layer construction with appropriate layer thickness achieves smooth surfaces without post-processing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The AM process reduces depth of damage, provides smoother surfaces, and allows for more uniform grain size, leading to improved performance and reduced material waste, enabling faster development cycles and use of advanced ceramics with equivalent costs.
Implementation Method 1
printing, using additive manufacturing equipment, a green part corresponding to the gas injector
Implementation Method 2
debinding the green part to remove the binder
Implementation Method 3
sintering the green part after the debinding to form the gas injector
Data Source
AI summary
A ceramic gas injector and method of fabrication are described. The gas injector has an inlet portion to which a gas is introduced via an inlet hole and contains a conformal channel between the inlet hole and a sidewall, an outlet portion from which the gas is provided from the gas injector and a collar disposed between the inlet and outlet portions. The channel extends into the collar. The channel has channel sections each of which extends through the inlet portion and terminates at both inlet ends before reaching the inlet face and collar ends before reaching the outlet portion. Alternating adjacent pairs of channel sections are connected via the inlet ends with adjacent pairs that are not connected via the inlet ends connected via the collar ends. Ports in a sidewall of the collar are connected with an adjacent pairs of sections not connected via the inlet ends.