From sand to silicon

How silicon wafers for microelectronics are made from sand.

[@vaggs75]

Title: From sand to silicon Video: Complicated chemical and physical processes are needed to convert sand to silicon. Proceeds about microchips.

[@krumuvecis]

yep, misleading title

[@Gr1pp717]

I mean, that was cool and all. But I came to find out how to turn sand into silicon...

[@blazingspur3323]

👋 Hi, I live in the High desert of Oregon and have 8acres of sand (we also are above an obsidian flow). How can I make my sand into anything / crystals??? THANK YOU 🙏!!!

[@seanbrinlee4752]

You may need more than a 3 minute video!

[@ardianmaulana1396]

8 0

[@thelukesternater]

The process is complex and multi step! Hope that’s helps :)

[@krumuvecis]

@@thelukesternater thanks, now all is clear

[@davidb5205]

I didn't come here to learn about basic semiconductor physics. I came to see the step-by-step factory process of making pure silicon. It didn't even explain how the sand into turned into pure silicon: how is it filtered, heated up, etc.

[@14598175]

Dang, you learned something. That's so awful.

[@davidb5205]

14598175 Cut the sarcasm. I'm an electrical engineer; I already knew about this Solid State 101 basic knowledge. What I came for is the stuff they don't teach in class: how the sand is actually made into silicon. You'd expect a video with the title "From sand to silicon" to at least cover that.

[@reginaldpettus5615]

Dude, same! Sorry someone had to be mean to you though.

[@this_is_japes7409]

quartz silicon/sand is mixed with coke(or some form of highly pure carbon) and then heated to 2000 C usually by running a very high electrical current of some sort. this produces raw silicon with a lot of impurities. the raw silicon is dissolved using hydrogen chloride producing trichlorosilane and other halides. trichlorosilane is distilled from the mixture removing the impurities. trichlorosilane is reacted with hydrogen gas in the absence of oxygen and this produces silicon and HCl. this Si though is poly-Si, so the poly-Si is melted and then a seed monocrystalline Si uses the melted poly-Si to grow into a bigger monocrystal.

[@aldenmascarenhas6614]

HobbyAlchemist Is there no other easier way , one which can be done with simple and cheap materials . I searched a lot , didnt fins any...any suggestions?

[@bradjohnson6919]

Everybody is correct in the flow of current. I just depends on how you describe it. There are two descriptions on current flow: 1. Follow the electrons. This is how most of us were taught and it works as a fine understanding for 99.995% of everything we do. This only falls short when we are at the gate level designing a chip. Think of it this way: There is a line of stopped cars and the first car (The electron) drives through the intersection, there is now a space where that car was and car 2 pulls forward into that space, there is now a space where car 2 was and car 3 pulls forward. We are following the flow of the cars. 2. Follow the holes. This is the method you are taught as an engineer. If we use the line of car analogy again as the cars (electrons) move forward a hole opens up behind it. As the cars move forward the hole moves back words. In the video they mentioned Boron doped Silicon and explained that there was missing electron (hole). They were following this hole.

[@AtlasReburdened]

There is no need for engineers to "follow the holes" or the equivalent, use "conventional current". All that is needed is a proper understanding of physics. There is an electric field, the electrons are the real particles with real charge that respond to that field by moving along it's gradient toward the positive charge, this is a current but here's the kicker, it's a negative current, so if for instance you try to use the right hand rule to determine the electrons response to a field or the orientation of the magnetic field created by the movement of the electrons, your prediction will be 180 degrees out of phase with reality. If you can keep this in mind and account for it then there is no problem whatsoever with engineering within the scope of real current. Using hole current is just a trick to not have to be so good at one's job.

[@Joe_Yacketori]

@@AtlasReburdened It's a little hard to grasp if you don't understand quasiparticles and/or emergent phenomena.

[@demoaccount2392]

Sand has lots of impuritues besides silicon dioxide, this is the simplest method of explaining p and n type conductors thanks ☺.

[@jonjudice1155]

Not what I was exactly looking for but finally got an answer for my main damn question the whole time. How exactly the electricity moves around. It's basically a type of capacitor/battery but it only moves electricity

[@chrisgewirtz5875]

This is at least a little wrong. N-type does not mean negatively charged, and P-type does not mean positively charged. The quick thought experiment: You dope a Silicon wafer with phosphorus. It's N-type now. Is it shooting out an electric field? Nope. Ideally the material has the same number of protons as it does electrons, the only difference is how tightly bound the electrons are; whether they fit neatly into a shell or not.

[@AutomationTechDad]

Ain't no human smart enough to invent this. This is alien technology 😂

[@jackcarter1897]

You’re right, no human alone could have invented all of this. This is the outcome of multiple humans working together. That’s why every job is useful. The scientists who understood atoms, the mathematicians who created systems such as the binary system and Boolean logic / algebra, the engineers who created the first electronic computers… Remember, the first computer was created from engineers who learned from the mathematicians who created binary and Boolean logic to create logic gates that utilise electricity in the form of binary data. That computer used vacuum chambers to achieve those logic gates. Then came along the transistor, from the scientists who understood atoms, then those transistors were used to replace the vacuum chambers and finally you have the computer chip you own today (more or less over some years of course). It’s a collective effort. No one human being could have come up with this themselves. But when we come together and combine our skills, we can create amazing things. The evolution of knowledge and creativity.

[@andrewprahst2529]

Everybody gangsta until electron holes start moving through the sand

[@chitranghosal879]

exactly, it is absolutely incorrect, n doping doesn't make it negetively charged, just increases donor concentration

[@thenicolochy]

Now I know what the n-p-n transistor looks like!

[@rishikeshawasthi88]

What would be more cost effective making silicon dioxide from sand or from quartz?

[@ntal5859]

Quartz and sand are both silicon dioxide you MOR0N.

[@YazeedCR]

so computers are a clump of tiny switches at the end of the day..

[@grammophonecat]

yes that can switch trillions of times a second. absolutely amazing really...

[@Blinkation]

well it's not only the amount of transistors, the architecture has a big weight in forming the logic. some chips can have fewer transistors but are "smarter" than other due to efficient architecture.

[@14598175]

20 years of engineering condensed to one simple answer......yes. Additionally, the "switches" can also be variable, which leads to the ability to amplify sinusoidal voltages/currents. Having only one P and one N gives you a diode which allows only a unidirectional flow of current. Take a wire, run it into a transistor as an amplifier, then to a diode and then a piezoelectric headphone and you've got a very basic AM radio Rx. There, I just saved you $50k. LOL!

[@thebanditgamer4865]

Basically a prosessor or a microchip is made of millions or even billions of transistors. If you use the right transisters in the right order, you can create the processors

[@jmatx]

Ends abruptly.

[@mufasafromlionking4614]

i thought chips were made from potatoes?

[@soal159]

what type of sand is used? There is a big difference between sands. I know this from construction videos with window glass making. They show a desert dune but I hear that isn't the correct sand.

[@jackcarter1897]

Just look up what sand type is on silicone valley. That’s pretty much where most computer chips are made from.

[@bencrawshaw1227]

Can you imagine if the knowledge of how to make these was lost. would take a long time to get back to the standards of amd and intel.

[@jackcarter1897]

Who knows if it would even be discovered again? I’m sure in an infinite universe, it’s guaranteed to be. But who knows what other form ‘computers’ might have taken before this knowledge is rediscovered, if ever.

[@MakeScienceFun1]

N-Type conductors are not negatively charged!

[@ostapkurtash6359]

yeah I guess this is the kind of "educative" videos people got in the day.

[@ntal5859]

It is negative charged when based on "pure silicon" IE there are more free electrons then usual.

[@endrixtube]

It is not an npn transistor, but it's a mos-transistor!

[@er5943]

oh my IT'S CHEF COOK

[@food4u598]

so silicon is more costlier then gold because its used in E chips, Processors..etc...

[@ankitjain4004]

I have investment and govt. Support also , but the process for silicon ,I don't know

[@rafaelbarbosacosta9365]

Please someone could answer me, I wanted to know how a monocrystalline crystal seed is made, how was it made?

[@nothingyet120]

Quartz silicon/sand is mixed with coke(or some form of highly pure carbon) and then heated to 2000 C usually by running a very high electrical current of some sort. this produces raw silicon with a lot of impurities. the raw silicon is dissolved using hydrogen chloride producing trichlorosilane and other halides. trichlorosilane is distilled from the mixture removing the impurities. trichlorosilane is reacted with hydrogen gas in the absence of oxygen and this produces silicon and HCl. this Si though is poly-Si, so the poly-Si is melted and then a seed monocrystalline Si uses the melted poly-Si to grow into a bigger monocrystal. I copied this from another commenter ;)

[@EhsanUllahofficial]

sand would be heat for silicon ?

[@THETRUTHZ]

And we have a chip shortage the tell/lie/vision says lmao

[@dwaynejohnsonfrontrunner9481]

why does this dude sound like doctor phil?

[@jackcarter1897]

Sounds absolutely nothing like Dr. Phil.

[@martinbrandt8789]

wrong heading.

[@keguo6751]

From sand to silicon? its kidding. just for lab test. For industrial production, no way.

[@yzkshorts5732]

Hi

[@jerrickgranville7872]

Boss

[@Monkeyheadtpc]

Hello there, children!

[@test8251]

Visit order.universitywafer.com for all your silicon wafer needs!

[@knalbblank6858]

1 out of 5 stars KZbin missing dislike ratio is garbage

[@ansonaroza]

Lol its not negative to positive

[@ankitjain4004]

I m from Rajasthan , if any one interest in sand of Rajasthan , DM

[@user-td4ln4ct7w]

This is by a lot fake. Chips are made from quartz.

[@hilmiakgunlu1036]

49. Comment

[@websuspect]

Well as many people caught on this guy failed basic electronics and physics both.

[@14598175]

Remember, we live in a multiverse these days. Who knows which alternate universe this was recorded in!

[@shaundo11]

Holy crap has no one ever heard of electron current....far out, think before you speak

[@AtlasReburdened]

Bullshit title. From sand to silicon was the only part they didn't show.

[@xaabsade9844]

Human from sand allah create adam from sand

[@MichaelMantion]

music ruined the video WTF why add music?

[@chricke91]

Electrons moving towards the Positive side...? So in-depth and still wrong :D

[@AtlasReburdened]

Yes, in Physics, which is the real description of reality and is not tainted by the tricks engineers use to make their job easier, we know that electrons have a negative charge, so a place with and abundance of them has a negative charge and a place with a deficiency of them has a positive charge. We also know that things with a negative charge are attracted to positive charges and this is seen as electricity in wires as the electrons move *from* the negative source *to* the positive sink.

[@jackcarter1897]

Well, electrons are negatively charged. So I’m not sure how you think negative attracting to positive is wrong…

[@kiss_meclose_ur_eyes2040]

Hi