Application and Exhibition of Harmonic's HMA Motors in Semiconductor Cleaning Equipment

I. Application: The Core Role of High-Precision Drives

Harmonic's HMA motors, with their superior performance, have become indispensable precision power sources in semiconductor cleaning equipment. During the cleaning and drying process, HMA motors (such as the HMAB12) deliver stable output speeds up to 4800 rpm, ensuring uniform drying of wafers during high-speed rotation and preventing residual droplets from impacting subsequent processes. Their high torque and high inertia further ensure smooth operation, significantly improving cleaning quality and equipment reliability. Furthermore, the HMA motor's hollow flange output structure (maximum 60mm hollow diameter) provides a convenient through-passage for the wafer suction mechanism, simplifying mechanical layout. The standard high-resolution absolute encoder (17-bit single-turn, 16-bit multi-turn) ensures precise positioning, meeting the stringent micron-level precision requirements of semiconductor manufacturing. In the lifting and flipping mechanism of cleaning equipment, HMA series motors work in tandem with reducers (such as the FHA-40C model), delivering 690 Nm of torque through a transmission system with a 1:100 reduction ratio, enabling complex movements in a compact package. This integrated design not only lowers the equipment's center of gravity but also optimizes space utilization, meeting the high-density layout requirements of semiconductor production lines. A case study shows that a customer in northern China significantly improved the yield rate of the cleaning and drying process after adopting HMA motors in their CMP equipment, validating their practical value in high-end manufacturing.

II. Technical Advantages: Core Competitiveness Empowering Equipment Upgrades

The technical advantages of HMA motors stem from their innovative design. First, the balance of high speed and high torque ensures low vibration during high-speed operations such as drying, avoiding wafer damage caused by inertial fluctuations associated with traditional motors. Second, the hollow structure eliminates spatial conflicts for wiring and piping, making it particularly suitable for 12-inch wafer cleaning equipment (such as the Huahai Qingke HSC-F3400). It supports precise movement of the multi-axis high-pressure nozzle assembly, enabling three-dimensional cleaning path planning. Furthermore, the deep integration of motors and reducers (such as the SHA series) ensures rapid and repeatable positioning of the wafer stage with unidirectional positioning accuracy of ≤90 arcsec, meeting the requirements of wet cleaning equipment for fine-tuning the chemical spray angle.

At the control level, HMA motors support the EtherCAT bus protocol, seamlessly integrating with Beckhoff controllers for real-time data feedback and dynamic adjustments. This intelligent feature enables cleaning equipment to automatically optimize cleaning parameters based on the degree of wafer surface contamination, enhancing the adaptability of the production line. For example, during the substrate cleaning process before chip packaging, the HMA motor-driven rotary stage can be combined with an imaging device to achieve wafer surface deflection via a three-axis telescopic unit, ensuring that the high-pressure nozzle array covers every corner and eliminating the blind spots associated with traditional line cleaning.

III. Scenario: The Driving Force of Semiconductor Process Upgrades

As semiconductor processing advances toward 3nm nodes and below, the precision and efficiency requirements for cleaning equipment will continue to increase. Harmonic's HMA motors, with their technological scalability, are poised to play a greater role in the following areas:

1. Advanced packaging cleaning: In wafer-level packaging (WLP) and panel-level packaging (PLP), the HMA motor's high-rigidity reducer supports smaller cleaning gaps (e.g., <120μm). Multi-axis linkage enables three-dimensional cleaning, replacing traditional assembly-line equipment, reducing chemical waste and increasing production capacity.

2. Green manufacturing transformation: The motor's energy-efficient design (e.g., DC24V power supply specification) helps reduce equipment energy consumption, aligning with the semiconductor industry's sustainable development trend. In the future, HMA motors may be combined with new cleaning technologies (such as plasma cleaning) to expand their application in dry cleaning equipment.

3. Global collaborative innovation: Harmonic has built an open ecosystem through partnerships with drive manufacturers such as Copley. Amidst the wave of domestic substitution, HMA motors are expected to rapidly penetrate local semiconductor equipment companies (such as Huahai Qingke), helping Chinese cleaning equipment technology break through international monopolies. IV. Challenges and Responses: A Path to Continuous Optimization

Despite its promising prospects, HMA motors still face two major challenges: first, cost pressure. Their high-precision components result in a high unit price, necessitating cost reduction through scaled production; second, adaptability to extreme environments, such as the challenges posed by highly corrosive cleaning fluids on motor sealing. To address this, Harmonic could leverage the protective design of the SHA series (such as a flat body that lowers the center of gravity) and explore collaborations with material manufacturers to develop corrosion-resistant coatings to extend equipment life. Furthermore, with the integration of AI technology into semiconductor manufacturing, HMA motors may need to integrate more sensors to enable predictive maintenance and further reduce the risk of downtime.

Conclusion

Harmonic's HMA motors, with their precision transmission technology, have injected innovative momentum into semiconductor cleaning equipment. From its current mature applications in spin-drying and lifting processes to its future potential in advanced packaging and green manufacturing, its technological advantages will continue to support the semiconductor industry's progress towards higher precision and efficiency. Facing these challenges, Harmonic needs to deepen technological innovation and ecosystem collaboration to consolidate its leading position in global high-end manufacturing.