With the explosive growth of AI servers, HBM packaging, power semiconductors, and the localization of related equipment, semiconductor ceramic materials have become one of the fastest-growing advanced ceramic application fields in recent years. Examples include alumina and aluminum nitride used in packaging, functional ceramics such as NTC/PTC thermistors and ZnO varistors, and equipment structural ceramics such as electrostatic chucks (ESC), heaters, focus rings, and chamber insulation components. The average particle size of the initial powders for these materials is mostly in the submicron range, with a considerable portion in the nanometer range (<100 nm). Moreover, most are mixtures with extremely high surface energy, making them difficult to disperse, which in turn leads to significant deviations or even errors in particle size analysis.
Laser particle size analyzers were originally used as general-purpose powder testing instruments. However, with intensifying industry competition and deeper application understanding by instrument manufacturers, more specialized techniques, functions, and even dedicated models have emerged to better match professional customer needs. Providing industry-specific solutions for semiconductor ceramic materials is highly aligned with market trends-this is due, on one hand, to the inherent limitations of laser diffraction instruments, and on the other hand, to the complex composition and broad particle size distribution of semiconductor ceramic powders. According to industry consensus, only about 10% of measurement errors originate from the instrument's detection unit, while over 90% of problems arise from the sampling and dispersion steps. Furthermore, different materials have distinct refractive indices and absorption coefficients-for example, alumina has a refractive index of only 1.76, while silicon carbide exceeds 2.6-so using identical parameter settings for different materials inevitably distorts the results. "Boundary particle size" measurements are another common pitfall: extremely fine particles suffer from a sharp drop in scattering intensity, while extremely coarse particles face issues such as concentrated scattering signals and insufficient resolution.