TECATRON SX natural
PPS PLASTIC UNFILLED FOR THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY
TECATRON SX natural is an unfilled PPS plastic (polyphenylene sulfide), processed to plates, rods, and tubes in compliance with semiconductor copy exactly requirements (also known as copy exact or CE). Additionally, more stringent quality controls and measures ensure maximized optical cleanness and dimensional stability, which for Ensinger PPS material is significantly above the usual market standard.
Extrusion of PPS plastic is challenging in terms of surface finish, as the extrusion skin differs significantly from the interior of the material due to the polymer's tendency to discolor. For the machining of the finished component, this usually means that machine shops have to choose larger stock shapes than actually needed, and consequently must accept more scrap. By choosing TECATRON SX instead, users can reduce this problem, as the surface discolorations are eliminated, and machine shops can choose shapes closer to the final part configuration, saving time and costs.
With more than 100 different dimensions for TECATRON SX available, Ensinger offers the best PPS size diversity for the semiconductor industries demand. In this way, machine shops can choose the closest size and save material waste and costs, thus enabling overall part cost reductions.
Optical purity is also a major challenge with PPS plastic in general, especially when impurities such as black specks, flow marks, and streaks in the material have a negative impact on process yield during finished part production. Due to its high degree of cleanliness TECATRON SX natural PPS is the material of choice for PPS applications in the semiconductor industries, for example for wet process equipment parts or PCB inspection fixtures. Furthermore, TECATRON SX offers improved internal stress and dimensional stability compared to standard industrial PPS, which particularly supports the suitability of parts with tight tolerances.
The technical PPS properties of the high temperature plastic also characterize TECATRON SX natural. These include high mechanical strength and rigidity, even at temperatures above 200°C. In addition to the low water absorption, PPS Polymer also shows good dimensional stability, ionic purity, low tendency to creep and excellent electrical properties, and is thus well suited for parts with tightest tolerances. Furthermore, unfilled PPS is very chemically stable, even at elevated temperatures, but does show sensitivity to UV radiation when uncolored. There is no known solvent that dissolves TECATRON PPS at temperatures below 200 °C.
As with all Ensinger semiconductor grade materials, we can confirm that TECATRON SX natural meets the limitations imposed by RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances in electrical equipment, and can also provide further conformity declarations on request.
Ensinger offers an alternative unfilled PPS tube grade specifically developed for CMP retaining rings: TECATRON CMP natural. The special suitability for CMP retaining rings results from the reduction of wafer defects due to a special property profile, which provides a unique balance of ductility and hardness.