MEMC Electronic Materials
MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of wafers and wafer technologies. The company’s customers include major semiconductor device and solar cell (device) manufacturers. The company provides wafers in sizes ranging from 100 millimeters (4 inch) to 300 millimeters (12 inch). It also sells intermediate products such as polysilicon, silane gas, ingots and scrap wafers to semiconductor device and equipment makers, solar cell and module manufacturers, flat panel and other industries. Products The company offers wafers with a variety of features satisfying various product specifications to meet its customers’ exacting requirements. Its wafers vary in size, surface features, composition, purity levels, crystal properties and electrical properties. The company’s monocrystalline wafers for use in semiconductor applications range in size from 100 millimeter to 300 millimeter and are round in shape for semiconductor customers because of the nature of their processing equipment. The company’s wafers are used as the starting material for the manufacture of various types of semiconductor devices, including microprocessor, memory, logic and power devices. In turn, these semiconductor devices are used in computers, cellular phones and other mobile electronic devices, automobiles and other consumer and industrial products. The company’s wafers are also used as the starting material for solar cells. Customers using wafers for solar applications utilize wafers that are square in nature so that they fit into solar panels. Solar cells are used to manufacture solar modules for converting energy from the sun into usable electrical energy. Wafers for Semiconductor Applications The company’s monocrystalline wafers for semiconductor applications include three general categories of wafers: prime, epitaxial and test/monitor wafers. Prime Wafers The company’s prime wafer is a polished, refined, and pure wafer with an ultraflat and ultraclean surface. The majority of its prime wafers are manufactured with a chemical-mechanical polishing process that removes defects and leaves an extremely smooth surface. The company’s OPTIA wafer is a 100% defect-free crystalline structure based on its patented technologies and processes, including Magic Denuded Zone, or MDZ. Epitaxial Wafers The company’s epitaxial, or epi, wafers consist of a thin silicon layer grown on the polished surface of the wafer. The epitaxial layer has different electrical properties from the underlying wafer. The company’s AEGIS product is designed for certain specialized applications requiring high resistivity epitaxial wafers and its MDZ product feature. The AEGIS wafer includes a thin epitaxial layer grown on a standard starting wafer. The AEGIS wafer’s thin epitaxial layer eliminates harmful defects on the surface of the wafer. Test/Monitor Wafers The company supplies test/monitor wafers to its customers for their use in testing semiconductor fabrication lines and processes. The company produces some of the test/monitor wafers from the portion of the silicon ingot that does not meet customer specifications for wafers to be used in the manufacture of semiconductors. Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) Wafers An SOI wafer is a relatively new type of starting material for the chip making process. SOI wafers have three layers: a thin surface layer of silicon (from a few hundred Angstrom to several microns thick) where the transistors are formed, an underlying layer of insulating material, and a support or ‘handle’ bulk silicon wafer. Wafers for Solar Applications The company’s wafers for solar applications are multicrystalline 156 millimeter square wafers. Marketing The company has customer service and support centers globally, including in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Customers The company sells its wafers to all major semiconductor device manufacturers, including the major memory, microprocessor and ASIC manufacturers, the world’s largest foundries, and solar cell and module manufacturers. In 2008, the company’s major customers were Suntech Power Holdings, Samsung Electronics and Gintech Energy. Competition The company’s major competitors are Shin-Etsu Handotai, SUMCO, Siltronic, LDK Solar, Kyocera Corp., REC Group, Renasola, Sanyo Corporation, Sharp Corporation and SolarWorld AG. Significant Events On July 24, 2009, Q-Cells SE has established a joint venture with MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. to build large solar parks in which each partner would have a 50% share. The first project would be a facility in Strasskirchen, Bavaria and Q-Cells International, a 100%-owned subsidiary of Q-Cells SE, has been commissioned to construct the facility. History MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. was founded in 1984.
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Posted 10/27/09 at 11:37pm
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Posted 10/27/09 at 11:37pm
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Posted 10/27/09 at 11:37pm
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MEMC Buys Solar Project Developer SunEdison (cleantechbrief.com) [edit]
