Articles
Development of Membranes with High Oxygen-Separation Performance at Extremely Low Temperatures
A significant amount of oxygen is typically required for various industrial applications. Cryogenic distillation has long been the dominant method for oxygen production due to its ability to yield high-purity oxygen and large production capacity. However, the low relative volatility of the oxygen/argon system has led to a continuous increase in the size of air-separation units (ASUs). In the double-column process, further size reduction of ASUs presents significant challenges. A potential solution is the process intensification of other unit operations in combination with distillation. In this context, membrane-based separation, which allows continuous extraction of products and is not bound to gas–liquid equilibrium, is a promising technology. However, research on separation mechanisms under extremely low temperatures remains limited. In this study, bis(triethoxysilyl)methane (BTESM), a material that enables precise pore-size regulation, was examined, and the separation performance of BTESM membranes was evaluated for oxygen, argon, and nitrogen under low temperatures (around -115 °C) . The results showed that at -115 °C, the BTESM membrane exhibited unprecedented separation performance, with oxygen/argon and oxygen/nitrogen selectivity values of 12.7 and 11.8, respectively, as well as high permeance compared with existing frameworks for the oxygen-selective membranes.
(Full pages PDF:614KB)
Development of Transfer Bonding Sheet Using Copper Nanoparticles
Power devices are used in power converters such as inverters for electric vehicles and other applications, and recently, SiC power devices capable of high-temperature operation are expected. On the other hand, the solder bonding materials used in conventional Si power devices have poor heat resistance and are unsuitable for SiC power devices, so metal nanoparticle bonding materials with high heat resistance are attracting attention. In this paper, we report on the development of a transfer bonding sheet that enables low-temperature bonding (below 250°C) using copper nanoparticles manufactured by our company. Specifically, by examining the glass transition temperature and concentration of the binder, we were able to create a transfer bonding sheet that can stably obtain a shear strength of 70 MPa or more at a bonding temperature of 250°C.
(Full pages PDF:586KB)
New Technologies & Systems
Nitrogen Generation Process for Co-production of Small Amounts of Ultra High Purity Oxygen and Argon
In the past, gas supply to semiconductor factories was a combination of production of nitrogen gas at on-site nitrogen generation units and supply of small amounts of liquefied oxygen and argon by lorry from other factories. In recent years, however, as many semiconductor factories have become larger, there has been a trend toward the demand for on-site production of oxygen and argon. In order to meet this demand, we have developed a nitrogen generation process capable of efficiently and stably supplying small amounts of ultra-high purity oxygen and ultra-high purity oxygen and argon. This report presents an overview of the developed process and how it addresses changes in the operation and operational scope that are required for large equipment.
(Full pages PDF:434KB)
Practical Application of DS-TIG Advanced Torch for High Efficient Prefabricated Piping Construction
We applied our commercial product, the SANARC® DS-TIG Advanced Torch, to a structure manufactured in-house. By using this torch, stable deep penetration welding is possible even with general-purpose tig welding machines. Through the practical application, the following three effects were obtained.
- The time required for a series of welding-related work is reduced by 65%: Edge preparation work is unnecessary, the number of welding passes is reduced, and welding speed is improved.
- Uniform welding quality: Automatic welding
- Reduction of edge preparation cost and amount of weld metal: Ecological-friendly welding
(Full pages PDF:392KB)
Demonstration of AlScN growth using a high-temperature precursor supply unit for MOCVD equipment
Nitride semiconductors deposited by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are widely used in high-frequency and high-power devices, LEDs, lasers, and other applications due to their excellent physical properties. In recent years, it has become clear that the addition of rare earth elements such as Sc during the deposition of nitride semiconductors can produce useful properties that did not exist previously. In particular, AlScN, a mixed crystal of Sc and Al, is expected to contribute to lower power consumption of nonvolatile memory and higher carrier density in high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). This paper reports on our success in stably supplying Cp3Sc, which has been difficult to use as a precursor due to its low vapor pressure, by using a high-temperature precursor supply unit developed by our company, and on our demonstration of AlScN deposition.
(Full pages PDF:433KB)
Development of Technology for Removing Water in Ammonia Mixed Gases Using Separation Membranes
We have developed a new water removal technology for ammonia mixed gas containing large amounts of water. The ammonia synthesis process, which has been actively studied in recent years in place of the Haber-Bosch process, is estimated to generate ammonia containing a large amount of water. This technology combines adsorption purification with membrane purification to downsize the adsorption purification section and reduce the energy required for the adsorbent regeneration process and loss of ammonia adsorption. Experiments have demonstrated that water removal to the ppm order can be achieved from ammonia mixed gas containing around 10,000 ppm water, that the amount of adsorbent required can be reduced by 89%, and that the ammonia yield of the process can be improved by approximately 5% compared to adsorption purification alone.
(Full pages PDF:567KB)
High-Purity Hydrazine Vapor Delivery System
We have been selling BRUTE® Hydrazine manufactured by RASIRC as a high-purity hydrazine material for semiconductor manufacturing. While high-purity hydrazine gas is attracting attention as a new semiconductor material gas, a stable supply of hydrazine gas at high concentration is required for semiconductor mass production processes. We have recently developed a hydrazine gas supply system for semiconductor mass production processes, utilizing our gas handling technology. This paper reports on the development of the hydrazine gas supply system and its supply characteristics.
(Full pages PDF:374KB)
Ultrafine Bubble Generating Nozzle
The use of fine bubbles has been expanding in various fields in the past decade or so. The applications of fine bubbles are diverse, closely related to the SDGs, and expected to continue to expand further in the future. This paper presents the development of an ultrafine bubble generating nozzle based on the gas-gas mixing and gas-liquid mixing technologies of Nissan Tanaka. The developed ultrafine bubble generating nozzle was confirmed to be superior to commercial products in terms of particle number concentration.
(Full pages PDF:290KB)
Development of Helium Recycling System for NMR
We developed a helium recycling system for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) devices. This system minimizes helium gas dissipation caused by evaporation of liquid helium and can be installed in existing NMR devices. The system design solved the challenges of suppressing mechanical vibration and stabilizing the liquid helium tank pressure, enabling zero boil-off operation. In the evaluation test, it was confirmed that the system has long-term operational stability and that the effect of noise on the spectrum is sufficiently suppressed. In the future, we will work to reduce power consumption and noise and aim to contribute to the effective use of helium resources and energy conservation.
(Full pages PDF:443KB)
Development of continuous measurement type gas concentration monitor
We developed a continuous measurement type gas concentration monitor utilizing vacuum deep ultraviolet light for the purpose of monitoring the concentration of highly reactive gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes with high sensitivity and accuracy. This continuous measurement type gas concentration monitor has a measurement sensitivity that can handle semiconductor process pressures and has excellent baseline and repeat measurement stability and constant measurement accuracy. In addition, by installing an appropriate spectral filter, this monitor can selectively measure the concentration of target gases even in a multi-component environment. In the future, we plan to further improve the sensitivity and accuracy, and to evaluate the long-term stability of the developed monitor.
(Full pages PDF:476KB)
Quantitative analysis of unstable gas components using GC-PDD
We analyze various gaseous impurities by gas chromatography. Gas chromatography is a relative analysis method, it is necessary to create a calibration curve using a standard gas for quantitative analysis of impurity components. Recently, user requirements for quality assurance have been varying and the requirements assurance of unstable components is required. Although it has been difficult to analyze unstable components for which it is difficult to produce standard gases, we have developed a quantitative analysis method using simulation software to verify the correlation between ionization energy and GC-PDD analysis results for the determination of unstable gas components.
(Full pages PDF:340KB)
Development of CO2 capture technology using amine adsorbents
- Adsorption characteristics when steam regeneration -
In order to achieve virtually zero CO2 emissions, it is important to capture CO2 at high yield not only from large scale CO2 emission sources but also from small and medium scale CO2 emission sources. In addition, since its cost reduction is desirable for business development of CO2 capture, we are promoting joint research with Hiroshima University to develop a low-cost, high-yield CO2 capture system. By using amine adsorbents (adsorbents with amines supported on porous supports) and applying a process to desorb the adsorbed CO2 with low-grade, inexpensive steam, a PSA (pressure swing adsorption system) that can capture CO2 with high yield and at low cost can be realized. This report introduces the methods used to evaluate amine adsorbents and to study equipment operating conditions.
(Full pages PDF:291KB)
Preheating Technology of Reducing Gases for Blast Furnace Shaft
In order to supply reducing gas such as hydrogen gas to the shaft section of a blast furnace, technology to preheat the reducing gas for heat compensation is required, so we started the development of technology to preheat the reducing gas using oxygen combustion. As a result of demonstration tests conducted at a reforming section with a reducing gas flow rate at its outlet of 250 Nm3/h, which we constructed in our business site in Yamanashi, it was verified that the developed technology is feasible. In the future, we will work on the technological development of the entire system, including the mixing section.
(Full pages PDF:372KB)