BUILDING ON THE PAST, READY FOR THE FUTURE: - MEMC

Also notable is the fact that, during this time, the controls of
the crystal-growing furnaces were changed to computer-digital
systems, giving the operators finer gradations of control. It was
one of those strange twists of fate where the silicon wafer MEMC
was making was improved through the use of the silicon-based
circuits in the computerized control system.
headlIne:
“Monsanto to sell sIlICon waFer FIrM”
Although the front-page article in the November 14, 1988,
issue of Electronic News announcing Monsanto’s plans to sell
its electronic products division didn’t exactly read like an
obituary, for some it felt like one. As the nation’s sole producer
of 8” silicon wafers, news of the impending sale sent shockwaves
through Silicon Valley, and many feared it was an indication
that the United States was losing its technological edge. Worse,
the Department of Defense feared that the United States’ security
could be jeopardized should silicon wafer production, a critical
defense technology, leave the country.
While some American companies,
including IBM, Texas Instruments, and
Motorola, had their own internal wafer
production, none of these facilities was
large enough to fill the gap should a
crisis of national security occur. One
Silicon Valley insider was quoted in
Electronic News saying, “This is it. It’s
all over. Monsanto was the last stand.”
Headline announces Monsanto’s intent to
sell MEMC.
Above: wafer slicer, 2009.
Below: This diagram explains both the inner diameter
saw and wire sawing of wafers.
Great Strides in Technology 45