How silicon is made....
Where I currently work produces some Neat Stuff! They manufacture parts made from silicon. These parts are then used by solar cell and computer chip manufacturers in their fabrication.
And I had no idea they were doing this in my part of the country.
The first step is growing the crystals, or ingots. They use the Czochralski Process, or "CZ" for short, to create the ingots on-site. These ingots are pretty to look at, but they're heavy.
Then these ingots are sliced and machined. Sometimes they're polished, and sometimes holes are drilled into them, using either diamond-tipped drills or electrical discharge machinery (EDM).
Naturally, quality is critical, so there are plenty of quality control measures taken during the fabrication process.
I don't spend a lot of time on the factory floor, so I don't know everything they do. (But I did get a tour the first week.) And if I did, what I would know would be considered proprietary information or a trade secret.
Why silicon? Because some of these parts need to be non-conducting, which rules out parts made of steel.
One drawback to silicon is that it's brittle, and can break easily, like glass.
But I like working here. I like working in engineering support, working side-by-side with engineers. And they seem to like me and my work. I just hope they have plenty of tasking for me -- and money in their budget -- to keep me employed for a long time.
And I had no idea they were doing this in my part of the country.
The first step is growing the crystals, or ingots. They use the Czochralski Process, or "CZ" for short, to create the ingots on-site. These ingots are pretty to look at, but they're heavy.
Then these ingots are sliced and machined. Sometimes they're polished, and sometimes holes are drilled into them, using either diamond-tipped drills or electrical discharge machinery (EDM).
Naturally, quality is critical, so there are plenty of quality control measures taken during the fabrication process.
I don't spend a lot of time on the factory floor, so I don't know everything they do. (But I did get a tour the first week.) And if I did, what I would know would be considered proprietary information or a trade secret.
Why silicon? Because some of these parts need to be non-conducting, which rules out parts made of steel.
One drawback to silicon is that it's brittle, and can break easily, like glass.
But I like working here. I like working in engineering support, working side-by-side with engineers. And they seem to like me and my work. I just hope they have plenty of tasking for me -- and money in their budget -- to keep me employed for a long time.