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The main challenges of tantalum targets in integrated circuit manufacturing

The main challenges of tantalum targets in integrated circuit manufacturing include:
1. High purity requirements Integrated circuits have extremely high purity requirements for targets, and impurities will seriously affect the quality of thin films and performance indicators of semiconductor devices, such as conductivity, heat resistance and corrosion resistance.

2. Microstructure control The grain size and orientation inside the tantalum target need to be strictly controlled to ensure uniform distribution of grains. As the wafer size increases, the size of the metal target increases, and the difficulty of controlling the uniformity of the material structure is also increasing.

3. Complex preparation process The preparation of tantalum targets depends on powder metallurgy processes, including the pressing and high-temperature sintering of high-purity tantalum powder to ensure that the material has the required physical and chemical properties.

4. High technical difficulty In the integrated circuit target market, tantalum targets are one of the most technically difficult types. In order to improve the comprehensive performance of the target, it is necessary to carry out systematic research and development in high-purity metal metallurgical purification, melt casting, powder sintering, microstructure regulation, heterogeneous welding, target structure optimization design, analysis and detection, and application evaluation.

5. Market demand growth As high-performance electronic devices have higher requirements for reliability and stability, the demand for tantalum targets continues to grow. With the rise of China's semiconductor industry, the demand for tantalum target blanks in chip manufacturing, integrated circuit packaging and other links continues to increase.

6. High quality requirements The integrated circuit manufacturing process continues to improve, and higher and higher requirements are placed on the quality of targets in terms of micro-quality and macro-specifications. High-purity metal sputtering targets for integrated circuits have a set of strict standards in terms of density, grain size, texture, welding bonding rate, dimensional accuracy, surface quality, etc.

7. Failure to apply on a large scale In terms of tungsten, tantalum, other high-purity special metals and alloy sputtering targets, large-scale applications have not been achieved due to the difficulty of preparation and processing technology or the lack of large-scale application demand in the downstream.