Fabricating Metal Powder Filters with Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing

Metal powder filters are key components in semiconductor manufacturing equipment that play a critical role in preventing the ingress of impurities and fine particles that may be contained in process gases. With the increasingly advanced development of the semiconductor industry, metal powder filters also require more precise and advanced performance. Therefore, in this study, a filter with a honeycomb structure morphology with crossed top and bottom was fabricated by a material extrusion additive manufacturing (MEAM) process. To achieve this, the prepared pellets were subjected to the MEAM, allowing the creation of filters with complex shapes featuring crossed top and bottom structures. After polishing the surface of the specimen, solvent debinding and thermal debinding were performed to remove the binder. Solvent debinding was performed in n-Heptane for 24 hours, while thermal debinding was performed in an Ar atmosphere at a maximum temperature of 800°C. The debinded specimens were sintered under a high vacuum atmosphere at temperatures of 850°C, 950°C, and 1050°C, respectively. The prepared metal powder filters were examined for filter morphology and microstructure using optical microscopy, and pore properties such as porosity and air permeability were evaluated.