High Throughput Fabrication of Thin Single Crystal Silicon Sheets

Researchers in Stanford's Nanoscale Prototyping Laboratory have developed a simple, high throughput method to fabricate ultra-thin, defect-free, single crystal silicon sheets at a competitive cost. This technology utilizes a spin etch process with a reusable silicon substrate to manufacture high quality sheets with potentially large surface area. These sheets are an order of magnitude thinner than those made with conventional techniques (100's of nm to 10's of mm) and could be used in semiconductor devices or solar cells.

Stage of Research
This process has been characterized and optimized for the production of silicon sheets with thicknesses ranging from 4 to 30 ?m using the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility. Employing proper processing conditions results in a final product that is similar in material quality to commercial semiconductor-grade silicon wafers.