GOLDEN, Colo. -- Isonics Corp. here has signed on with U.S. and Russian researchers to collaborate in the study isotopically pure silicon, a technology that could improve the manufacturing and performance of semiconductors.
The study, jointly sponsored by Isonics and the U.S. Department of Energy. is a collaborative project among Isonics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the Electrochemical Plant Isotope Separation Facility in Zelenegorsk, Russia. DOE is contributing about $1 million in funding and Isonics will make a $1.1 million in the form of isotopically pure silane gas,polysilicon, and epitaxial wafers that will be used to perform fundamental experiments in solid-state physics as well as manufacture semiconductor devices.
The DOE funding will be used to acquire silicon isotopes from
Russia, and the remainder will fund basic research on silicon at LBNL. Isonics will also have rights to any intellectual property developed under the program
The two-year effort is part of the DOE's Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention Program (IPP Program) aimed at employing Soviet weapons-related scientists in commercial activities. Seven-year-old Isonics is developing isotopically-pure semiconductor materials that it believes will improve the speed and thermal conductivity of microelectronic devices.
"This program is an integral part of Isonics' overall technology
plan to provide the technical information which will speed the adoption of silicon-28 by the semiconductor industry," said Stephen Burden, Isonics' vice president for semiconductor materials. "This program will allow an extensive study of the properties of isotopically pure silicon as well as pave the way to commercial production of silicon-28."
LBNL will study the properties of highly enriched silicon-28, silicon-29, and silicon-30 isotopes including transport studies in isotope superlattices and magnetic resonance studies in silicon-29. Enriched silicon-30 will be studied for improvements in neutron transmutation doping (NTD) of silicon for power semiconductor applications.
Eugene Haller, head of LBNL's Electronic Materials Program and leader of the LBNL's participation in the joint effort, commented, "This collaborative IPP Project makes use of the special capabilities of a Russian isotope separation plant, a U.S. semiconductor firm, and a U.S. National Laboratory in an exceptionally unique way. The beneficiary of this project will ultimately be the U.S. semiconductor industry."
