Handbook of Silicon Based MEMS Materials and Technologies

1.1. Properties of Silicon

Silicon is an abundant element found in the Earth’s crust in various compounds. Semiconductor and MEMS applications use more than 20000 tons/year (2008) of high-purity silicon. Today most of the silicon used is either N- or P-type, doped with antimony, arsenic, phosphorus (N-type) or boron (P-type); the dopant concentration ranges between 10¹³ and 10²⁰ dopant atoms/cm³ Si. Intrinsic (no intentional doping) or very slightly doped high resistivity silicon above 1 kΩcm is used in small amounts. Statistics pertaining to silicon can be found, for example, in the US Geological Survey 2006 Minerals Yearbook [1].

Quartz, or silicon dioxide, is the most common starting raw material for purified silicon for semiconductor and ...