IBM repurposes scrap silicon

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 31 October 2007 02:36

Your IT - Home IT

IBM has come up with a way of 'erasing' silicon wafers rejected as scrap during the manufacturing process so they can be used to make solar panels.

The company estimates that around three million wafers per year are scrapped by the semiconductor industry. Due to the commercial sensitivity of the circuits, manufacturers have either been crushing or melting down rejected wafers.

IBM's process allows the reclaimed parts to be used as monitor wafers for calibrating the manufacturing process before being sold to solar panel makers. Using reclaimed monitor wafers gives an energy saving of up to 90 percent compared to buying new wafers, and then the solar panel manufacturers save another 30-90 percent compared to using new silicon.

"One of the challenges facing the solar industry is a severe shortage of silicon, which threatens to stall its rapid growth,” said Charles Bai, chief financial officer of solar energy company ReneSola. "This is why we have turned to reclaimed silicon materials sourced primarily from the semiconductor industry to supply the raw material our company needs to manufacture solar panels."

IBM expects the process will save its Burlington plant alone almost $US1.5 million this year. The company plans to provide details of the process to other semiconductor manufacturers.

"IBM's commitment to environmental conservation spans its business, from the re-purposing of materials used in semiconductor manufacturing to enabling customers to manage, measure, and run the most power efficient datacenters on the planet," said Mike Cadigan, general manager, IBM Semiconductor Solutions.