Scalability, reproducibility and controllability – technological basis, allowing idea to escape the laboratory for real industry. We correct growing pains of silicon purification techniques in order that technology could be used by everyone.
Technologies for production of pure materials are not new. Vacuum rectification of materials is recognized as a reliable method and a good alternative to “chemical” path comprising gas production, its rectification and decomposition to the original material for a quite long time. Thus, electron-beam purification of refractory metals is well known in the industry, but is not a traditional method in semiconductor technology, where until recently there were no competitors to classical chemical Siemens process.
However, the growing demand for materials for electronics and solar industry, high capital expenditures, growth of electricity tariffs, awareness of the need for control of traffic and emissions of hazardous chemicals make Siemens process less attractive. On the other hand energy-efficient methods of metallurgical purification develop and become cheaper, e.g. plasma and electron beam melting. Other methods of classical metallurgy such as slagging and use of melt-solutions also gradually penetrate into semiconductor industry.
We use our experience and knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing to embody laboratory technologies in industrial equipment.
