In today's chip-driven world, from smartphone application processors and data center computing clusters to electric vehicle power systems and industrial machine control units, their core logic and computing functions are almost all built upon the same material: silicon wafers. Although wide-bandgap materials like silicon carbide and gallium nitride have demonstrated superior performance in specific fields such as power and RF applications, silicon wafers still account for over 95% of the global semiconductor materials market, forming the physical foundation of the entire electronic information industry.

Why does the position of silicon wafers remain unshakable today despite continuous breakthroughs in materials science? Behind this lies the physical property advantages of silicon itself, a complete industrial ecosystem built over decades, and its continuous self-iteration in the dual-track evolution of "extending Moore's Law" and "expanding Moore's Law."

Four Pillars: Establishing the "Unshakable" Position of Silicon Wafers

The Golden Balance Point of Material Endowment

Silicon is not top-ranked in all performance indicators, but it achieves the highest comprehensive score, finding a perfect "golden balance point":

• Abundant reserves: The second most abundant element in the Earth's crust, with low cost.

• Perfect insulator SiO₂: Silicon can be thermally oxidized to generate an extremely stable, high-quality silicon dioxide insulating layer, which is the physical foundation for building Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) – a revolutionary advantage in microelectronics.

• Excellent semiconductor characteristics: Its key parameters such as bandgap width and carrier mobility are very suitable for precise doping and electrical control.

• Superior mechanical properties: High hardness and low thermal expansion coefficient, performing excellently in the manufacturing, handling, and high-temperature processes of large-size wafers (such as 12-inch).

A Peak Industrial Ecosystem

Driven by Moore's Law for over half a century, the world has built the most precise and complex manufacturing system in human history around silicon:

• Manufacturing equipment: Photolithography machines, etching machines, thin film deposition equipment, etc., whose technical standards and development roadmaps completely evolve around silicon processes.

• Design and software: EDA tools, IP libraries, and chip architectures are all built based on silicon characteristics.

• Processes and talent: The know-how and experience base of millions of engineers worldwide is almost entirely accumulated in silicon-based processes. The migration cost of such an ecosystem is astronomical.

Unparalleled Economies of Scale

As wafer sizes have developed from 4-inch, 6-inch, and 8-inch to today's mainstream 12-inch, the manufacturing cost per chip has been significantly reduced. The huge global demand for silicon chips supports massive production capacity, enabling silicon wafer production to achieve extreme economies of scale – a cost advantage that no new material can hope to match in the foreseeable future.

"More than Moore" Route Expansion

When transistor miniaturization approaches physical limits, the silicon industry has not stagnated but continues to evolve through two paths:

• Extending Moore's Law: Advancing toward 3D structures (such as FinFET, GAA transistors), continuing to improve integration density in three-dimensional space.

• Beyond Moore's Law: Through advanced packaging technologies (such as 2.5D/3D IC, Chiplet), integrating chips of different processes, or even different materials (such as silicon with silicon carbide, silicon with photonic devices), making silicon the "platform" and "connector" for system-level integration. For example, silicon photonics is becoming the core of high-speed optical communication, with silicon-based platforms being the ideal integration platform.

Future Outlook: The Era of Silicon's "Platformization" and "Integration"

The future semiconductor world is not simply about "who replaces whom," but is entering a "Silicon Platform+" integration era. The role of silicon wafers is being elevated:

As the Absolute Core of Computing and Control

In digital logic and memory fields, silicon's dominant position will not change in the foreseeable future.

As the Carrier Platform for Heterogeneous Integration

Through advanced packaging, silicon substrates can integrate silicon carbide power modules, gallium nitride RF devices, MEMS sensors, etc., above or beside them, leveraging respective strengths to achieve optimal system performance.

From Silicon to All Generations: The Value Extension of Precision Machining

The unshakable position of silicon wafers is not because it is the champion in every single metric, but because as the "universal language of the semiconductor industry" and "the most solid foundation," it has become deeply bound with the entire modern technological civilization. The rise of new materials (such as silicon carbide, gallium nitride) serves as a supplement and expansion to silicon, opening new battlefields at specific performance boundaries (such as ultra-high voltage, ultra-high frequency), rather than overthrowing silicon's kingdom.

This integration trend also places higher demands on precision machining – future semiconductor manufacturing requires a set of underlying process capabilities that can "handle" materials from all generations. This is precisely the core area where Siplus Semiconductor has been deeply engaged for many years. We focus on precision machining technologies such as slicing, grinding, and polishing, and our capability boundaries have never been limited to a single material:

From first-generation silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) that support the cornerstone of the digital age;

To second-generation compound semiconductors gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP) leading RF and optical communications;

To third-generation wide-bandgap materials silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) driving the energy revolution;

To fourth-generation ultra-wide-bandgap materials gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃) and diamond facing the future

Siplus's "Slicing, Grinding, Polishing" Solutions

Siplus's slicing, grinding, and polishing technology and process solutions have achieved comprehensive coverage of every generation of semiconductor materials.

We firmly believe that precision machining is the common "foundation" of the semiconductor industry. Whether it's silicon-based chips supporting the information society or third-generation semiconductors leading the energy revolution, their performance release, yield improvement, and cost reduction all depend on the relentless pursuit of extreme flatness, nanometer-level precision, and ultra-low damage surfaces. With "deep integration of equipment and processes" as the core, Siplus provides precision machining guarantees for every generation of semiconductor materials, empowering comprehensive innovation from the digital age to the energy age.

In this golden age of semiconductors built on silicon's foundation with multiple materials flourishing, the value of Siplus's precision manufacturing will continue to shine.