
262 History of Technologies, Development for Solar Silicon Cost Reduction
blades to slice one wafer at a time, was producing a large amount of
waste. I thought a better method would be to use diamond plated
wire to slice multiple wafers at a time. This new technology was
called Fixed Abrasive Slicing Technology (FAST) because it used
diamond fixed on wire. I soon came to realize that there were
significant technical obstacles involved with the development of this
new process, and that such an undertaking would require outside
funding. Once HEM was commercialized for sapphire in 1974, I
wanted to develop HEM for growth of other crystals as well as to
dev ...