Crystal Puller

• Manufactured by Elmat
• 113 in. H x 36 in. W x 29 in. D
  Metal, plastic, rubber
• On display in Making Modernity
• Gift of SEMI
• 2007.119

Description

A crystal puller is used to create silicon ingots for use in the semiconductor industry. A large quantity of pure crushed polycrystalline silicon is combined with additional elements and then melted in the puller's large crucible, which is surrounded by an inert gas atmosphere, usually argon gas. Once the mixture is combined, it is cooled, and then a single crystal of silicon is added. This crystal serves as a "seed," which is then drawn or "pulled" up while being rotated. A small amount of the mixture rises with the "seed," pulled upward by surface tension, and cools into a single large rod called an ingot. The length and diameter of the ingot is determined by the pulling speed and the ambient temperature. The ingot is then cut into wafers and polished, creating the base material on which semiconductors are constructed.