Space Forge, another UK-based start-up, has a radical approach to semiconductor production. In December, they switched on an orbital furnace on board their ForgeStar-1 satellite. This unique and patented technology produces seed crystals in a microgravity environment. Down the road, we’ll take these crystals back down to Earth to grow high-performance power device substrates. The company’s goal is to take advantage of the wonderful things about space to improve crystal growth, a process that could revolutionize the semiconductor industry.
The furnace onboard the ForgeStar-1 satellite can create a super-hot plasma to help dissolve these seed crystals making them grow. Joshua Western, co-founder and CEO of Space Forge, considers this an exciting breakthrough. This might seem like a small return, but with only one kilogram of space-grown semiconductor Earth-based manufacturers would be able to produce tons of high-performance materials.
Later this year, the ForgeStar-1 satellite will deploy an experimental heat shield during its de-orbit maneuver. This is the most delicate maneuver, but fortunately, the satellite was designed mainly to test the furnace’s abilities. Its aim is to demonstrate the capability to reproducibly create the manufacturing setting required for chemical transformations. This controlled environment is essential in developing superconductor crystals.
Harnessing Microgravity for Crystal Growth
Space Forge’s technology takes advantage of the benefits of microgravity to dramatically enhance and revolutionise the crystal growth process. By counteracting the effect of gravity, the firm thinks it can produce better quality crystals with improved performance.
“For example, if you’re worried about nitrogen interfering with your growth process, on Earth [in a vacuum chamber] nitrogen might be present at a concentration of around 10 to the -11…” He adds, “In space, above 500 kilometers altitude, it’s naturally present at 10 to the -22.” Said environment attributes to a more robust crystal formation relative to earth based methodologies that have been relied upon historically.
From 1973 to 2016, around 160 different semiconductor crystals have been grown in microgravity conditions on board different spacecraft. Remarkably, 86 percent of these crystals exhibited outstanding qualities. They were indeed bigger, strutted much more even-toned appearances, and bested Earth-grown counterparts. This historical data makes Space Forge’s mission to power the world’s best semiconductors through advanced production in space sustainable.
Future Missions and Market Potential
The ForgeStar-1 satellite will burn up upon reentry to the Earth. Space Forge has its sights set high, looking to bring its first batch of space-grown crystals home on a follow-up mission next year. Analysts estimate that the in-orbit manufacturing market alone will reach $28.19 billion by 2034. This growth is creating an unprecedented opportunity for companies such as Space Forge.
As the only company testing return technology at this scale, the company’s ability to continue testing its processes and manufacturing capabilities are critical for validating its processes. Western states that there is potential for significant energy savings in industrial applications: “There is potential for significant energy savings, perhaps as much as 50 percent within large infrastructure installations such as [5G] towers.”
While the recent developments are quite promising, others within the scientific community are sounding an alarm on whether producing bulk materials in microgravity could truly be feasible. Anne Wilson notes, “I don’t think that microgravity is going to be ideal for the manufacture of bulk materials.” She acknowledges that “niche materials for specific applications might be worth the investment,” suggesting that certain specialized fields could benefit significantly from this technology.
Economic Considerations and Industry Impact
The economic implications of Space Forge’s technology are huge. If they succeed, it will trigger similar breakthroughs in high-end applications not only like artificial intelligence, but quantum computing. E. Steve Putna highlights these potential advancements: “If a space-grown substrate increases the yield of a $10,000 high-end AI processor from 50 percent to 90 percent or allows a quantum computer to function closer to room temperature rather than near absolute zero, the launch cost becomes a negligible fraction of the total value created.”
Voices from the industry have gone on record noting how launching things into space is getting cheaper and cheaper. Unfortunately, these costs are not going down as fast as production costs are here on Earth. Matt Francis remarks on this balance: “When they were a prized commodity, maybe sending to space made sense. Though the cost of space is coming down, it isn’t coming down faster than the cost of producing wafers.”
That’s exactly what Space Forge plans to do. The company’s large vacuum furnace is specially designed to produce very precise conditions needed to grow high quality superconductor crystals. This is the one key factor to creating successful crystal development.