Silicon Wafers Cost Considerations

Sep 9
10:32

2016

Glenda Beasley

Glenda Beasley

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Silicon finds great application in electronic equipments. Electrical circuitry including computer chips; microprocessors, transistors all have silicon Wafers as a foundation.

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Silicon is non-metallic,Silicon Wafers Cost Considerations Articles gray element found abundantly in the earth’s crust. This element with its unique properties has helped to transform the world we are living today. The silicon shows a remarkable characteristic of electrical conductivity. Due to its ability to conduct an electrical charge, it is the perfect material for the semiconductor industry. It is a powerful semiconductor material, ideal for production of integrated circuits and other materials. There were several semiconductors tested for various industrial applications, but only Silicon has proven its usefulness.

The development of integrated circuits has revolutionized the human society and the entire credit goes to the silicon wafers. The single key component of integrated circuits installed in computers, mobiles and other devices are Silicon wafer. The raw material for silicon wafer is also accessible and easily available to produce wafer grade silicon. Without this element, it is unlikely we would have seen the revolution in digital equipment and communication systems that has taken place over the last decade. Silicon wafers must adhere to stringent specifications depending upon the task they are going to perform. Are you looking to buy silicon wafers? Take a look at some important points you must consider regarding silicon wafer products.

Type of Silicon Wafers:

The wafer type depends on the conductivity requirements. Wafers carry a particular charge and commonly referred to as either N-Type and P-Type.

  • N-type Silicon Wafers: Silicon wafers that have more electrons in their current carriers are negative charges and referred to as N-Type.
  • P-type Silicon Wafers: When Silicon has a missing electrons from their current carriers they have a positive charge, hence they are called P-Type wafers.

You must consider the material being used to fabricate, the diameter of the wafer and resistivity.  Charges on the silicon wafers is given by the addition of dopants. P-type silicon wafers are produced by doping with boron. It produces positively charged silicon wafers. Doping with  Phosphorous, Antimony, and Arsenic produces N-Type wafer, carrying a negative charge on the surface.

Dopant and its effect on Resistivity:

The Dopant is an impurity that is added to the silicon during the production process. A dopant  functions by altering the chemical properties of the silicon wafer. Therefore resistivity of a silicon wafer greatly depends upon the Dopant and the amount in which it is doped.

Property of Resistivity: 

Resistivity refers to the current flow and electron movement in the silicon. Depending on the purpose of the wafer, the resistivity need to be altered through doping. The resistivity is decreased by adding more dopants to the silicon. Materials that have been heavily doped have lower resistivity.

Understanding Wafer Size:

Silicon wafer Pricing is an essential element in the realization of integrated circuits production and manufacturing. Increasing the wafer size require a lot of investment. Silicon wafer manufacturing technologies were re-engineered to achieve the necessary increase in the wafer size.