Fused Silica Container Material with Al2O3 Nanofiber Additions for Semiconductor Technologies

We have studied the effect of Al2O3 nanofiber on the properties of fused silica ceramics such as are used to produce containers for molten semiconductor materials. The addition of 0.05 to 0.15 wt % alumina nanofiber has been shown to cause an increase in the mechanical strength of ceramics prepared via slip casting. The addition of 0.15 wt % nanofiber increased the compressive strength of the ceramic material obtained at a sintering temperature of 1200°C from 90 ± 4 to 143 ± 9 MPa and its bending strength from 28 ± 2 to 42 ± 3 MPa.