BN Market review
In nitride ceramics, compared with aluminum nitride and silicon nitride which are popular in recent years, boron nitride BN is very low-key. There are only two reasons: one is the high technical threshold; the other is the small market space. This is also characteristic of almost all niche markets (highly specialized markets). At present, the production capacity of hexagonal boron nitride powder is not very small. Most of the products are used in the field of high thermal conductivity materials and metal smelting. The proportion of boron nitride in ceramic structural parts is small. According to Jay S. from QS Advanced Materials Inc (QSAM), BN Ceramics can be roughly divided into two routes: high purity and composite. Among them, high-purity boron nitride ceramics have excellent high-temperature resistance; composite boron nitride ceramics sacrifice some high-temperature properties in exchange for the improvement of corrosion resistance, wear resistance, thermal shock resistance, and other different directions.
One of the important application fields of high-purity boron nitride ceramics is the semiconductor industry. "In this field, some hot-pressed boron nitride ceramics can be used to replace pyrolytically (chemical vapor deposition) boron nitride (PBN) in some cases. The important premise to realize this is to control the impurity content of oxygen, silicon, aluminum, and other impurities in the powder raw materials, and the oxygen content is the main content." However, this part is still monopolized by foreign suppliers. Mr. Chen believes that this is an important direction for domestic boron nitride powder raw material technology breakthrough.
Composite boron nitride ceramics is the future of the industry development. Zirconia, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and other additives will make the products have different characteristics. It needs a lot of production practice and experience to customize products for customers. QSAM not only ensures high productivity but also has strong product development capability. Moreover, QSAM is one of the few suppliers that can produce large crucibles with a diameter of more than 400mm. Although a small number of people, Jay is very optimistic about the future of boron nitride ceramics. He said, for example, the production of aluminum nitride substrate requires the use of high-purity boron nitride box; aerosol powder making and amorphous tape also need to use composite boron nitride nozzles. The above-mentioned industries that have exploded and are exploding will stimulate the demand for boron nitride ceramics.