Customer Request: We need pricing for 100 pieces of 100 mm single-side-polished silicon wafers. The requested material is N-type, <100> orientation, 0–100 ohm-cm resistivity, approximately 500 µm thick and test grade. We previously purchased this material and would like a quotation for another 100 wafers, including estimated shipping and handling.
Low-Cost, High-Quality Silicon Wafers
UniversityWafer, Inc. supplies silicon wafers for semiconductor research, university laboratories, device fabrication, MEMS, optics, thin-film deposition and other research and development applications. Silicon wafer pricing depends on the substrate specifications, quantity and processing requirements.
Customers can request wafers by diameter, crystal orientation, conductivity type, dopant, resistivity, thickness, surface finish and grade. Both small research quantities and larger-volume orders may be available, depending on the required specification and inventory.
What Determines Silicon Wafer Price?
There is no single price for a silicon wafer. Two wafers with the same diameter can have very different costs because semiconductor substrates are manufactured and selected to specific electrical, crystallographic and dimensional requirements.
Important factors affecting silicon wafer cost include:
- Wafer diameter: Common research and production diameters include 50.8 mm (2 inch), 76.2 mm (3 inch), 100 mm, 125 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm and 300 mm.
- Grade: Test, mechanical, reclaim and prime-grade wafers have different specifications and pricing.
- Crystal orientation: Common orientations include <100>, <111> and <110>, with availability and cost depending on the requested specification.
- Dopant and conductivity type: Silicon may be supplied as P-type or N-type material using dopants such as boron, phosphorus, arsenic or antimony.
- Resistivity: Standard, heavily doped and high-resistivity silicon can have substantially different manufacturing requirements and costs.
- Growth method:Czochralski (CZ) and float-zone (FZ) silicon differ in purity, oxygen content, available resistivity ranges and price.
- Surface finish: Single-side polished (SSP), double-side polished (DSP), lapped and other surface preparations have different processing costs.
- Thickness and tolerances: Standard thicknesses are generally more economical than specialized thicknesses or tight dimensional tolerances.
- Additional processing: Thermal oxide, silicon nitride, epitaxial layers, thinning, dicing and other custom processing can add to the final substrate cost.
- Order quantity: Per-wafer pricing can vary considerably between individual research wafers and larger-volume orders.
Example 100 mm Silicon Wafer Quote Request
Researchers frequently contact UniversityWafer for repeat orders and quantity pricing. The following is an example of the type of specification information that helps us prepare an accurate quote:
Providing the wafer diameter, orientation, conductivity type, dopant, resistivity, thickness, polish, grade and quantity allows us to identify suitable inventory and provide more accurate pricing.
Customers looking specifically for 100 mm substrates can also browse available 100 mm silicon wafers online.
Silicon Wafers for Research and Production
UniversityWafer supports researchers, engineers and manufacturers who need silicon substrates without unnecessarily large minimum order quantities. Depending on inventory, many specifications can be purchased in small quantities, including individual wafers for research, process development and prototyping.
For larger quantities or specialized specifications, request a quotation. Include as much information as possible about the required wafer so that the appropriate material can be identified quickly.
Useful specifications to include in your request: diameter, orientation, P-type or N-type, dopant, resistivity, thickness, SSP or DSP surface finish, grade, required films or coatings, and quantity.
Get Your Silicon Wafer Quote FAST!
Send us your required silicon wafer specifications and quantity for a quotation, or Buy Silicon Wafers Online and start researching today.
How Is Silicon Wafer Price Determined?
The price of a silicon wafer depends on much more than wafer diameter. Crystal growth method, conductivity type, dopant, resistivity, orientation, thickness, surface finish, grade, dimensional tolerances and order quantity can all influence the final cost.
Standard wafers that are readily available from inventory are generally more economical than substrates requiring unusual electrical properties, tight dimensional tolerances, specialized polishing or additional processing.
Silicon Wafer Diameter and Price
Silicon substrates are produced in multiple diameters for research and semiconductor manufacturing. Common sizes include 50.8 mm (2 inch), 76.2 mm (3 inch), 100 mm (4 inch), 125 mm, 150 mm (6 inch), 200 mm (8 inch) and 300 mm (12 inch).
Larger wafers generally require larger single-crystal ingots, specialized slicing and polishing equipment, and tighter control of wafer geometry. For that reason, the purchase price of an individual wafer does not simply scale with surface area.
In semiconductor manufacturing, however, larger diameters can improve manufacturing economics because more dies can potentially be fabricated during a single wafer-processing cycle. This is one reason 200 mm and 300 mm wafers are widely used in commercial semiconductor production.
Researchers who do not need production-scale substrates may find smaller-diameter wafers more economical for experiments, thin-film deposition, university laboratories and proof-of-concept device fabrication.
Specifications That Affect Wafer Cost
- Diameter: Larger-diameter substrates typically require more material and specialized manufacturing capability.
- Crystal orientation: Common orientations include <100>, <111> and <110>. Availability and pricing can vary by orientation.
- Conductivity type and dopant: Wafers may be P-type or N-type and doped with elements such as boron, phosphorus, arsenic or antimony.
- Resistivity: Standard resistivity ranges are often easier to source than very low-resistivity or high-resistivity silicon wafers.
- Thickness: Standard SEMI-type thicknesses are generally less costly than custom thinning or non-standard thickness requirements.
- Surface finish: Single-side-polished (SSP), double-side-polished (DSP), lapped and specialty surface finishes require different levels of processing.
- Grade: Prime, test, mechanical and reclaim wafers are manufactured or selected to different quality specifications.
- Growth method: Czochralski (CZ) and float-zone (FZ) silicon have different impurity characteristics, resistivity capabilities, availability and manufacturing costs.
- Wafer geometry: Requirements for total thickness variation (TTV), bow, warp, flatness and edge geometry may affect price.
- Quantity: Individual research wafers and small lots may have a higher per-wafer cost than larger-volume orders.
Prime, Test and Reclaim Wafer Pricing
Wafer grade can make a significant difference in cost. The appropriate grade should be selected according to the process rather than simply choosing the least expensive substrate.
Prime-Grade Silicon Wafers
Prime-grade silicon wafers are intended for applications requiring tightly controlled electrical, crystallographic and surface specifications. They are commonly used for semiconductor device fabrication, advanced lithography and processes in which wafer quality can directly affect device performance or yield.
Test and Mechanical-Grade Wafers
Test or mechanical-grade substrates can be a lower-cost option when prime-grade electrical or surface specifications are unnecessary. Depending on the specification, they may be useful for equipment testing, deposition trials, handling experiments, process development and educational work.
Reclaimed Silicon Wafers
Reclaimed silicon wafers are previously processed wafers that have undergone material removal, cleaning and repolishing so that they can be reused for suitable non-device or process-development applications. Reclaim wafers can provide an economical alternative when the application does not require new prime-grade material.
CZ vs. FZ Silicon Wafer Cost
Silicon crystal growth method is another important pricing factor. Most commercial silicon wafers are produced using the Czochralski process. CZ growth enables high-volume production across a broad range of wafer diameters and electrical specifications.
Float-zone silicon is produced without a conventional crucible in contact with the molten zone. FZ silicon is therefore typically characterized by very low oxygen and carbon concentrations and can be produced with very high resistivity.
Because FZ material has more specialized manufacturing requirements and more limited diameter availability, FZ wafers can cost more than comparable CZ substrates. The correct material should be selected according to the electrical and process requirements of the application rather than price alone.
How Doping Affects Silicon Wafer Price
Pure crystalline silicon is a semiconductor. Controlled introduction of electrically active impurities changes its carrier concentration and resistivity. Boron is commonly used to produce P-type silicon, while phosphorus, arsenic and antimony are commonly used to produce N-type silicon.
Wafer price is influenced not simply by whether the silicon is doped, but by the requested combination of dopant species, conductivity type, resistivity range, diameter, orientation and growth method.
Very low-resistivity material may require heavy doping, while high-resistivity substrates require extremely low concentrations of electrically active impurities and careful control during crystal growth. Specialized electrical specifications can therefore cost more than commonly stocked resistivity ranges.
Importantly, wafer diameter itself does not determine doping concentration. A 100 mm and a 200 mm wafer can, in principle, be specified with similar resistivity and conductivity type if suitable crystal material is available.
Wafer Orientation, Flats and Notches
Silicon wafers are commonly supplied with crystallographic surface orientations such as <100>, <111> and <110>. Orientation is important because crystal direction can influence oxidation, etching, carrier transport and mechanical behavior.
Orientation flats were traditionally used on many smaller-diameter wafers to provide crystallographic and identification information. Modern 200 mm and 300 mm semiconductor wafers typically use an edge notch rather than the large primary flats associated with many older and smaller-diameter wafer standards.
Surface Finish and Wafer Geometry
Surface preparation contributes directly to silicon wafer cost. A single-side-polished wafer has one polished device-quality surface, while a double-side-polished silicon wafer has polished surfaces on both sides.
DSP substrates are useful for applications requiring backside optical access, wafer bonding, MEMS processing, precision metrology or tight thickness and flatness control. The additional polishing and process control can make DSP substrates more expensive than otherwise comparable SSP wafers.
Other specifications such as total thickness variation (TTV), bow, warp and surface roughness may also influence pricing when tighter tolerances are required.
Additional Processing Increases Wafer Cost
A bare silicon substrate should be distinguished from a processed wafer. Optional processing can substantially change the final price. Examples include:
- Thermal silicon dioxide (SiO2)
- Silicon nitride coatings
- Epitaxial silicon layers
- Wafer dicing
- Backgrinding and thinning
- Custom thin-film deposition
- Wafer bonding
- Special cleaning or surface preparation
When comparing quotes, make sure the wafers have equivalent specifications. A lower-priced wafer may not be comparable if the grade, surface finish, thickness tolerance, resistivity or other requirements are different.
Wafer Price vs. Cost per Die
The purchase price of a bare silicon wafer is not the same as the manufacturing cost of an integrated-circuit die. Cost per die also depends on device design, die area, edge exclusion, scribe lanes, process complexity, fabrication cost, equipment utilization and manufacturing yield.
A larger wafer can accommodate more potential die sites, but the number of good dies ultimately depends on both layout and process yield. For that reason, there is no universal formula that converts the purchase price of a silicon substrate directly into the finished cost of a semiconductor chip.
For researchers purchasing bare substrates, the most useful comparison is therefore based on the actual wafer specification and quantity rather than a generalized cost-per-die estimate.
How to Get an Accurate Silicon Wafer Quote
To receive accurate silicon wafer pricing, provide as many of the following specifications as possible:
- Wafer diameter
- Crystal orientation
- P-type or N-type conductivity
- Dopant species
- Resistivity range
- Wafer thickness
- SSP or DSP surface finish
- Prime, test, mechanical or reclaim grade
- CZ or FZ crystal growth
- Required films, coatings or processing
- Quantity
Providing complete specifications helps UniversityWafer identify suitable inventory and avoids comparing substrates that differ significantly in quality or performance.