NEXCERA™｜Cordierite-based ceramics with high specific stiffness and excellent thermal stability

K-GenesisX™

NEXCERA™

Features
Advantages
CO₂ Emission Reduction Data
Interview

NEXCERA™

NEXCERA™ Features

NEXCERA™ is a ceramic based on cordierite developed in the fine ceramics business that Krosaki Harima is expanding through utilization of know-how cultivated in refractory manufacturing. By taking advantage of NEXCERA™’s near-zero expansion characteristics around room temperature, it is possible to achieve lightweight and high stiffness and this has contributed to improving the performance of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Also, by applying diffusion bonding technology that bond materials together and utilizing the characteristics of a poreless material, it is possible to provide mirror units with complexly designed components suited to customers’ sophisticated requirements.

This material has higher specific stiffness than low thermal expansion glass (LTEG) and superior thermal stability, so it is expected to realise application in high-precision mirrors used in optical telescopes for space development.

Specific stiffness and thermal stability

Comparison of physical properties between LTEG and NEXCERA™

Property [HT1]	Linear expansion coefficient α [×10^-6/K]	Specific gravity ρ [g/cm³]	Stiffness E [GPa]	Specific stiffness [E/ρ]	Thermal stability k/α［W/µｍ］
NEXCERA™	0.03	2.57	143	56	235
LTEG	0.02	2.53	90	36	73

* NEXCERA™ has higher specific stiffness than low thermal expansion glass (LTEG) as well as superior thermal stability (the property of resisting expansion and quickly achieving uniform heat).

Presentation Materials and inquiries for NEXCERA™

Advantages of NEXCERA™

1 An extremely low thermal expansion coefficient suppresses thermal deformation

In the semiconductor industry that supports the development of electronics, cutting-edge technology is required in the parts of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to achieve extremely high positioning accuracy at the nano level. NEXCERA™ has an extremely low thermal expansion coefficient and can suppress thermal deformation, so it has been widely adopted in practical use in the parts of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

2 Enables lightweight designs due to high stiffness

Stiffness is about 1.5 times higher than conventional low thermal expansion glass (LTEG), enabling weight reduction through rib structure.
NEXCERA™ is also expected to be used in mirrors for optical telescopes in satellites, an application exploiting its lightweight, high stiffness characteristics.

*Large mirror (⌀724 spherical mirror (R1200)) prototyped through a contract with JAXA

3 Conserving energy through weight reduction

The wafer stage and reticle stage of semiconductor exposure equipment move at high speed, so energy can be saved by using NEXCERA™ to reduce weight.
In space industry applications, using NEXCERA™ to reduce the weight of optical telescope mirrors can decrease rocket payload weight, and help reduce CO2 emissions by saving rocket fuel.

Presentation Materials and inquiries for NEXCERA™

Contribution to SDGs with NEXCERA™

“9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure” Providing ceramics to various fields

We are contributing not only to electronics fields such as the semiconductor manufacturing equipment that is now indispensable to our lives, but also to the space field where future development is expected.
We will continue to refine our ceramic product development and technical capabilities, creating a foundation for technological innovation in a wide range of industrial fields, and thereby contributing to society.

NEXCERA™ Interview
（Team member Interviews）

NEXCERA™

Interview | Applications ranging from semiconductors to outer space by capitalizing on a low coefficient of thermal expansion and light weight. Exploring the limitless possibilities of ceramics.

In anticipation of the increasing demand for higher precision alongside the evolution of semiconductors, we began developing a material capable of achieving near-zero thermal expansion at room temperature ahead of our competitors around the year 2000. The result of that effort was the development of NEXCERA™.

Technical papers