Silicon boule for the production of wafers.

A boule is a term used to describe a single-crystal ingot produced by synthetic means. This is the first of many steps to create an integrated circuit, as used by many today. Image File history File links Monokristalines_Silizium_für_die_Waferherstellung. ... Image File history File links Monokristalines_Silizium_für_die_Waferherstellung. ... An etched silicon wafer In microelectronics, a wafer is a thin slice of semiconducting material, such as a silicon crystal, upon which microcircuits are constructed by doping (for example, diffusion or ion implantation), etching, and deposition of various materials. ... A single crystal is a crystalline solid in which the crystal lattice of the entire sample is continuous and unbroken to the edges of the sample. ... [[Image:[[Gold bars|Gold ingots. ... Integrated circuit showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery Microchips with a transparent window showing the integrated circuit inside. ...

In the semiconductor industry they can be made by a number of methods, such as the Bridgeman technique, or Czochralski process. A cylindrical rod is produced. A semiconductor crystal boule is normally cut into circular wafers. Each wafer is polished to provide substrates suitable for semiconductor devices to be fabricated on. A semiconductor is a solid whose electrical conductivity can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically. ... The Bridgeman technique is a method of growing single crystal ingots or boules. ... The Czochralski process is a method of crystal growth used to obtain single crystals of semiconductors (e. ... An etched silicon wafer In microelectronics, a wafer is a thin slice of semiconducting material, such as a silicon crystal, upon which microcircuits are constructed by doping (for example, diffusion or ion implantation), etching, and deposition of various materials. ... Semiconductor devices are electronic components that exploit the electronic properties of semiconductor materials, principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide. ...

In the Czochralski process a seed crystal is required to create a larger crystal, or ingot. This seed crystal is dipped into the pure molten silicon and slowly extracted. The molten silicon grows on the seed crystal in a crystalline fashion. As the seed is extracted the silicon sets and eventually a large, circular boule is produced. A seed crystal is a small piece of single crystal material from which a large crystal of, usually, the same material is to be grown. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 3, p Appearance as coarse powder, dark gray with bluish tinge Atomic mass 28. ...

This boule is then cut with a diamond saw to produce the familiar wafers onto which the integrated circuits are etched.