Dow Corning says it has begun production of high-purity monosilane gas – a material used as an anti-reflective solar cell coating and as a feedstock for photovoltaics – at its facility in Thomas Township, Mich. This factory is adjacent to the polysilicon manufacturing plant of Hemlock Semiconductor Group, of which Dow Corning is a majority shareholder.
‘There are only a few major manufacturers of monosilane, and most of them use much of their supply for their own downstream processing,’ notes Eric Peeters, vice president of the company's solar group. ‘So, up until now, monosilane hasn't always been available when customers needed it.’
Dow Corning's monosilane plant has a capacity of 4,000 metric tons per year. Purity levels of the monosilane produced in the plant have consistently matched that of the leading supplier and are above industry specifications, the company says.
