Solaicx has designed and built a proprietary single crystal silicon wafer production system for production of Czochralski (CZ) m-Si ingots.   These ingots are specifically manufactured for the silicon-based photovoltaic manufacturing industry. The Solaicx system includes a continuous CZ crystal grower that implements several Solaicx breakthrough technologies, allowing the manufacture of low cost, high quality single crystal silicon ingots at high volume for conversion into solar wafers.  

Solaicx's grower (patent pending) is expected to be up to 5 times more productive than traditional CZ crystal growers, most of which were designed and built to service the semiconductor, rather than the solar, wafer manufacturing industry.   Solaicx' new capital equipment technology will produce ingots far more rapidly than current capital equipment processes, providing faster cycle times while yielding ingots with uniform resistivity throughout their length.   The resulting 6-inch and 8-inch wafers, built to customer specification, will possess uniquely high minority carrier lifetime.  

Silicon utilization - one of the most significant cost factors within silicon wafer manufacturing - will be further greatly improved through Solaicx's unique manufacturing process, thus creating significant efficiencies and competitive advantages in a market severely constrained by near-term silicon feedstock supply shortages and raw material price increases.   The company's own internal ingot cropping, slabbing and surface grinding equipment, as well as its own advanced high capacity wire saw, will be able to slice thinner wafers of between 300 to 150 microns while significantly reducing nearly all excess waste -- ultimately allowing excess silicon to be recycled into the manufacturing process, or resold as additional high-quality, high-efficiency material.