Wafers into solar panels
IBM has announced a semiconductor wafer reclamation process, pioneered at its Burlington fabrication plant in Vermont. The process uses a pattern removal technique to turn scrap semiconductor wafers into a form suitable for the manufacture of silicon based solar panels.
According to the company, the reclamation process can efficiently remove IP from the wafer’s surface, making them available either for reuse as ‘monitor wafers’ in house or for sale to the solar cell industry.
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, 250,000 wafers are started each day around the world. IBM estimates that up to 3.3% of those are scrapped, amounting to some 3million scrap wafers a year.
