Huzhou Pulim Semiconductor: Building a Precise Foundation for Wafer Manufacturing Processes with Precision Motion Technology

On the core map of the semiconductor industry cluster in the Yangtze River Delta, Huzhou Pulim Semiconductor Co., Ltd., established in Changxing, Huzhou in 2023, is becoming a promising new force in the domestic semiconductor equipment supporting sector, thanks to its continuous deepening of research and development in the field of nanoscale precision motion control. This specialized enterprise, which focuses on the research and development of key equipment for semiconductor core processes, has created a complete technology product matrix covering wafer handling robots, precision motion stages, ceramic wafer forks, and wafer alignment stages, centered around the transmission, positioning, and alignment needs of the entire wafer manufacturing process. It provides solid local support for the high-precision and stable operation of domestic semiconductor production lines.

As the core executing component for wafer transfer between different process chambers, the wafer handling robot independently developed by Prim has broken away from the path dependency of traditional solutions, achieving independent breakthroughs across the entire process chain from mechanical modeling, material selection to motion control algorithms. It adopts a lightweight yet high-strength structural design, paired with a multi-degree-of-freedom collaborative motion control algorithm, which can stably accommodate wafers of all sizes ranging from 6 to 12 inches. Even in high-speed transmission scenarios, it maintains an extremely low vibration level, achieving a sub-micron level of repeatability and positioning accuracy. This not only prevents minor damage to the wafer edges but also boosts the wafer transfer efficiency at a single station by over 30%, fully meeting the ultra-clean environmental requirements of semiconductor manufacturing.

In the field of precision motion stage design, Prim's technical team has innovatively integrated air-bearing static pressure technology and a nano-interference feedback compensation system to meet the precision requirements of advanced processes down to 3nm and below. By utilizing air bearings for non-contact operation, the friction loss during operation is reduced to almost zero. This self-developed motion stage system achieves a basic positioning accuracy of 50nm and a repeatability of 35nm. The new generation of iterative products further enhances the positioning accuracy to within 30nm. Additionally, it comes with a self-developed integrated method for laser interference vibration measurement and active vibration suppression, effectively solving the vibration interference problem in complex production environments. This provides reliable hardware support for processes such as lithography and inspection, which require extremely high motion stability.

As the core component that directly contacts the wafer during wafer handling, the material properties and structural design of the ceramic wafer fork directly determine the safety and cleanliness of wafer transmission. Prim's ceramic wafer fork is made of high-purity, high-density alumina or silicon nitride ceramic materials, featuring an extremely low thermal expansion coefficient and excellent wear resistance. In strong corrosive process environments such as etching and thin film deposition, it can effectively avoid wafer contamination caused by the precipitation of metal impurities. The product adopts a structural design combining vacuum adsorption and flexible mechanical clamping to achieve stress-free wafer grasping. Even in high-speed motion scenarios, it can control the wafer's end face runout to the nanometer level, ensuring the integrity of the wafer throughout the entire transmission process.

For the high-precision alignment requirements of lithography and advanced packaging processes, Prim's wafer alignment stage integrates multi-degree-of-freedom precision displacement adjustment technology and a high-definition visual closed-loop feedback system. It incorporates a laser interferometer and high-precision piezoelectric drive components to achieve nanometer-level precise alignment between the wafer and photomask, with an alignment error stably controlled within ±5nm. Equipped with an adaptive three-point edge clamping structure, it can accommodate wafers of different thicknesses and sizes, enabling rapid alignment without the need to change fixtures. This significantly reduces production line changeover and adjustment time, effectively enhancing the overlay accuracy and chip yield in advanced manufacturing processes.

From single-point technological breakthroughs in core components to collaborative adaptation and optimization across multiple systems, Huzhou Pulim Semiconductor is gradually building its own precision motion technology barriers with solid technical accumulation. In the future, the company will continue to delve into the field of nanoscale ultra-precision control, promote the technological implementation and iterative upgrading of more semiconductor core equipment, and inject continuous momentum into the self-reliant and controllable development of the domestic semiconductor industry.