Researchers Develop Cleaner, Cheaper Chips

A team of researchers at University College London have demonstrated a technique that uses ultraviolet (UV) light–rather than intense heat–to create silicon dioxide, one of the components of today’s computer chips. Highly pure silicon dioxide is key to the way transistors function. Because the compound forms very slowly at room temperature, chip makers today heat the material to around 1,000 degrees Celsius to speed up the process. Not only does this process use remarkable amounts of energy to create the heat, it also carries the risk of damaging other components that are subjected to the heat. Using UV light, the researchers were able to create silicon dioxide relatively quickly at room temperature, without the possibility of warping other materials. If the process is commercially viable, it could save considerable cost in producing computer chips and be more environmentally friendly. Douglas Paul of the University of Cambridge semiconductor physics group noted, however, that despite the advantages of the UV technique, it also results in a greater number of defects.

BBC, 30 June 2006