News Article
Siltronic takes Soitec licence
Wacker’s Siltronic silicon wafer division has signed a license for Soitec's proprietary Smart Cut technology to produce silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and strained SOI wafers. A joint programme between the companies aims to accelerate the development of strained SOI wafers. Siltronic will be able to provide bonded SOI wafers based on Smart Cut in 2005.
Wacker’s Siltronic silicon wafer division has signed a license for Soitec's proprietary Smart Cut technology to produce silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and strained SOI wafers. A joint programme between the companies aims to accelerate the development of strained SOI wafers. Siltronic will be able to provide bonded SOI wafers based on Smart Cut in 2005.
SOI introduces a layer of insulating material between the top face of the silicon wafer (where semiconductor chips are fabricated) and the supporting base silicon. This produces faster devices that consume significantly less power than those made with traditional bulk silicon.
Strained silicon increases the mobility of charge carriers flowing through transistors. Strained SOI wafers combine the high-speed features of strained silicon with the advantages of SOI. The strained SOI wafers currently in development using Smart Cut technology are compatible with current SOI device processes.