Everything You Need To Know About Silicon Wafers

Whether or not you are familiar with the parts that make up today’s equipment, you have likely used technology that uses silicon wafers before. Have you ever wondered what is so unique about silicon, and why these wafers are used? Read more to learn about this type of equipment.

What is Silicon?

Silicon is common. In fact, it is the second most common element on Earth. This element is a metalloid and can be found throughout the universe. Although it looks metallic, it isn’t really metal. In fact, it is only a semi-conductor.

Due to the unique makeup of silicon, it is used in many technological products today for its semiconducting abilities. In fact, it has become the backbone of most high-tech products. To be used effectively and conduct electricity, the silicon has to have an almost 100% purity level. Most silicon is made today with sand that has a high percentage of the element and must be purified to a certain level before being at an excellent electrical grade.

What Are Silicon Wafers?

After purifying the silicon, it is heated and cooled to create an ingot. After growing to the right size, the ingot is sliced thinly into disks. These are called wafers and are used to create microscopic circuit patterns for electronic parts. Silicon wafer dicing cuts the wafer into several pieces that contain copies of the specific circuit. After being polished to a mirror-like state, they can be combined with other electronic components.

What Do Silicon Wafers Do?

Silicon wafers are used mainly in integrated circuits. These are the internal workings of computers and phones today. Integrated circuits are small chips that do all the functions of larger circuits made in the past. With the fabrication of electronic components with the semiconductor wafer, the circuit can perform millions of actions due to the microscopic patterns. This is the latest technology for smartphones, allowing them to be smaller yet highly functional.

Solar panels also use silicon wafers. The semiconducting properties of the element work well with solar power, and silicon is relatively easy to find. High power lasers also use these types of wafers to create intense laser beams.

Benefits of Silicon Wafers

Silicon is a hard material and therefore isn’t as easy to damage. It can withstand high temperatures and has great efficiency. Next time you use your phone, imagine the tiny integrated circuit that helps your phone function. With the help of this incredible purified element and others, technology is only advancing with smaller and better inventions.