99.99% High-Purity Calcium Fluoride: Key Material for Semiconductors and Advanced Optics- Part 1

Changzhou Jiayuan Chemical Co., Ltd. is an enterprise specializing in the research and development and supply of fluorinated chemicals, high-purity fluorides, and specialty materials, serving the fields of electronic materials, semiconductors, optics, new energy, and fine chemicals. Leveraging its mature fluorochemical industry chain resources and product supply capabilities, Jiayuan Chemical continuously focuses on the application and development of high-purity fluorine materials in advanced manufacturing, providing global customers with a variety of high-quality fluoride products, including high-purity calcium fluoride. In recent years, with the rapid development of semiconductor manufacturing, precision optics, laser technology, and high-end testing equipment, 99.99% high-purity calcium fluoride (CaF₂) is becoming an important basic material in the advanced manufacturing industry chain. Compared to ordinary industrial-grade calcium fluoride, high-purity calcium fluoride places higher demands on impurity control, material stability, and optical performance, and its application areas are gradually expanding from traditional industries to high-value fields such as semiconductors, optoelectronics, and high-end optics.

Why do the semiconductor and optics industries require 99.99% high-purity calcium fluoride?

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, photolithography determines the precision of chip manufacturing, and the optical system in photolithography equipment requires special materials that can stably transmit high-energy, short-wavelength light sources.

Calcium fluoride has a wide range of light transmittance, especially in the ultraviolet (UV) and deep ultraviolet (DUV) bands, where it has excellent transmittance. It also has low refractive index, low dispersion, high resistance to laser damage, and good chemical stability. Therefore, it has become an important material for high-end optical components and can be used in key components such as lenses, windows, prisms, and beam splitters in lithography equipment.

For semiconductor devices, ordinary purity calcium fluoride is insufficient. Trace impurities, such as metal ions like iron, copper, and nickel, as well as internal crystal defects, can all lead to:

Increased ultraviolet light absorption reduces photolithography exposure efficiency;

Decreased optical transmittance affects chip manufacturing precision;

Damage occurs during long-term laser operation;

Decreased crystal stability shortens equipment lifespan.

Therefore, calcium fluoride with a purity of over 99.99% improves material uniformity by reducing impurity content, enabling it to meet the stringent performance requirements of precision optical and semiconductor equipment. High-end optical-grade calcium fluoride typically requires further control over crystal uniformity, birefringence, and internal defects.

Which customers primarily purchase 99.99% calcium fluoride?

Currently, customers purchasing high-purity calcium fluoride mainly focus on the following areas:

1. Companies in the semiconductor equipment and lithography industry chain

Mainly used for:

Optical components for DUV lithography equipment;

Semiconductor testing equipment;

Precision exposure system;

Laser processing equipment.

With the continuous development of fields such as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, automotive electronics, and advanced packaging, the global demand for high-performance chips is growing, which places higher demands on semiconductor manufacturing equipment and key materials, and the demand for high-purity optical materials is also increasing.

2. Optical lens and precision instrument manufacturing enterprises

include:

Ultraviolet optical lens manufacturers;

Infrared optical equipment companies;

Microscope and spectrometer manufacturer;

Research institutions.

Calcium fluoride can cover a wide spectral range from deep ultraviolet to infrared, and therefore it is widely used in high-end lenses, window materials, analytical instruments and other fields.

3. Laser equipment companies

High-power laser systems have extremely high requirements for window materials, which must possess the following properties:

High light transmittance;

High thermal stability;

High resistance to laser damage.

99.99% calcium fluoride can reduce energy loss during laser operation and improve equipment stability.

4. Customers in the coating materials and scientific research fields

High-purity calcium fluoride powder can also be used for:

Vacuum coating materials;

Optical thin film preparation;

New materials research and development;

Research on special functional materials.

The next chapter will be even more exciting.