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The United States is currently decades behind on silicon semiconductor technology manufacturing, exemplified by the CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022. But to truly lead the future of semiconductor technology, we must look beyond silicon, which has reached its physical limits in output power and operating frequency, and establish dominance in beyond-silicon semiconductor technology. To do this, a robust method for manufacturing beyond-silicon crystals will be needed for advanced packaging and substrate usage. This webinar will introduce an innovative concept of using US pre-eminence in space technology to leapfrog into a semiconductor leadership position while simultaneously spurring the commercialization of low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Existing beyond-silicon crystal growth methods yield small volumes of poor-quality crystals. Rather than traditional solutions that address the symptoms of this problem, our innovation addresses the root cause: gravity. By moving manufacturing to LEO, the detrimental effects of gravity on crystal growth (e.g., buoyancy & sedimentation, container interactions, hydrostatic pressure, thermal convection) can be eliminated – resulting in greater than 3x increase in crystal size and up to 1000x fewer defects. These benefits at the crystal level can in turn improve device properties by an order of magnitude when used as substrates. For example, improved thermal properties of microgravity-grown crystals can address critical packaging challenges faced by device manufacturers across consumer electronics, medical devices, and aerospace & defense.
Microgravity semiconductor crystal growth has a robust academic track record through the 80s and 90s during the space shuttle era. However, once the US transitioned LEO R&D to the ISS, semiconductor crystal growth was deprioritized due to its incompatibility with ISS human life support systems. Pursuing this promising avenue for semiconductor crystal growth requires additional infrastructure that is external to the ISS to host the necessary high temperature, high pressure payloads. This seminar will discuss the most cost-effective and timely manner to acquire this critical LEO infrastructure that will facilitate US leadership in semiconductor technology.
- Welcome & Opening Remarks - Dr. Dianne Poster, NIST, NOAA Office of Space Commerce, Convenor
- Introduction of Dr. Jessica Frick, CEO & Founder Astral Materials, Inc. - Dr. Poster
- Seminar presentation - Dr. Frick
- Discussion and questions - moderated by Shelby Bowers, Material Measurement Laboratory, NIST
- Wrap-up & Closing Remarks - Dr. Frick, Dr. Poster
- Adjourn
Dr. Jessica Frick is the CEO & Co-Founder of Astral Materials, Inc., a company that uses microgravity as a manufacturing tool to grow beyond-silicon semiconductor crystals at a size and quality that cannot be achieved on Earth. Dr. Frick holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry & Materials Science from Princeton University and has a deep expertise in microgravity crystal growth from her time as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Engineer at Stanford University. With over a decade of experience in crystal growth, on Earth and in microgravity, Dr. Frick has been instrumental in raising awareness on the benefits of microgravity material processing and the infrastructural needs to conduct this work in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Dr. Frick’s unique perspective on crystal growth innovation, which is tightly coupled to US pre-eminence in space, will provide valuable insights that will help attendees understand the tangible benefits microgravity manufacturing has to offer the semiconductor community.