ASP Isotopes Inc., an advanced materials company dedicated to the development of technology and processes for the production of isotopes for use in multiple industries, today announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement with an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of semiconductors. Under the terms of the agreement, ASP Isotopes expects to supply highly enriched silicon-28 to the customer for use in next-generation semiconductors. The product is expected to be supplied from the Company’s South African production facility and shipped to the customer in the USA during 2024.
Naturally occurring silicon has three isotopes – 28, 29 and 30. The 29 isotope has a ½ positive spin, which is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles. Highly enriched silicon-28 is spin-free where qubits are protected from sources of decoherence that causes loss of quantum information(1). In addition to its potential to process superior information such as qubits, it is believed that highly enriched silicon-28 can conduct heat 150% more efficiently(2) than natural silicon, which will potentially allow for chips to become smaller, faster and cooler.
ASP Isotopes’s proprietary technology can enrich isotopes of low atomic mass (such as silane (SiH4), molecular mass of 32), as well as isotopes of heavier masses. Other companies developing methods to enrich silicon generally either enrich silicon tetrafluoride (SiF4) or a halo silane. Neither of these chemicals can be used directly by a semiconductor company and require chemical converting processes that potentially harm the purity of the final product. By processing silane directly, the Company believes that its finished product will be a higher quality and may be used by semiconductor companies without the need for additional chemical conversion processes.
“To create faster, smaller next-generation semiconductors, the world is likely going to require materials that are currently not available in commercial quantities,” said Paul Mann, ASP Isotopes’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “ASP Isotopes is currently working on many isotopically pure elements that we believe will help semiconductor companies create the chips that the world will require in the future to enable technologies such as Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence.”
ASPI’s South African multi-isotope production facility is expected to be capable of producing up to 10 Kgs of highly enriched silicon-28 per annum. To meet the anticipated demand later this decade, the Company anticipates constructing a larger production facility as part of the proposed Icelandic cluster, slated to start production during 2026. The Company expects to start the construction of its Icelandic facilities during 2024 with first production of medical isotopes expected in 2025. The Company is in discussions with many companies, both in the semiconductor industry as well as healthcare industries regarding their requirements for products that might be produced from the Icelandic cluster.
| (1) | Isotopically Enriched Layers for Quantum Computers Formed by 28Si Implantation and Layer Exchange, Schneider, E and England, J; ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, 15, 17, 21609–21617 |
| (2) | Penghong Ci, Muhua Sun, Meenakshi Upadhyaya, Houfu Song, Lei Jin, Bo Sun, Matthew R. Jones, Joel W. Ager, Zlatan Aksamija, and Junqiao Wu Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 085901 – Published 23 February 2022 |
