Space Forge, a UK-based space start-up founded in 2018, wants to revolutionize the way we make things. It is doing this through its cutting-edge approach to producing high-quality semiconductor crystals. The company aims to develop ultra-efficient next-generation electronics, ultrafast optical networks, and breakthroughs in pharmaceutical research by harnessing the unique conditions of space. In December, Space Forge demonstrated the operation of an orbital furnace on its ForgeStar-1 satellite. This milestone gets them one step closer to their ultimate goal of producing near-ideal semiconductor crystals in orbit.
The furnace on-board the ForgeStar-1 satellite generates a narrow stream of concentrated, super-hot plasma. This plasma can then form seed crystals that will be re-introduced to Earth. These seed crystals serve a critical function in growing substrates from gallium and aluminum nitride or silicon carbide. These materials are key to more efficient, higher performance power devices. In this initiative, Space Forge takes center stage. They hope that creating new materials in space will help unlock groundbreaking technologies.
The Science Behind Space-Grown Crystals
Joshua Western, co-founder and CEO of Space Forge, noted the benefits of manufacturing semiconductor materials in a microgravity environment. He discussed how the lower concentration of nitrogen at the high altitudes makes for cleaner crystal growth.
“For example, if you’re worried about nitrogen interfering with your growth process, on Earth [in a vacuum chamber] nitrogen might be present at concentration of around 10 to the -11,” – Joshua Western
“In space, above 500 kilometers altitude, it’s naturally present at 10 to the -22.” – Joshua Western
Other experts are not so optimistic about microgravity’s potential for enabling large-scale manufacturing of materials. Anne Wilson expressed caution, stating, “I don’t think that microgravity is going to be ideal for the manufacture of bulk materials.” She noted that niche materials designed for particular applications might warrant the cost of in-space fabrication.
Manufacturing Logistics and Challenges
While Space Forge pushes the limits of what is possible with space-grown materials, cost and logistical challenges are among the main hurdles. Currently, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets carry payloads to low Earth orbit for an effective price of about $1,500 per kg. Biomaterials produced onboard the International Space Station (ISS) can come home on SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon capsule. Due to high demand, availability is limited for these services. The actual tangible mass of material that can be returned is realistically a few kilograms at most.
While these hurdles are considerable, Western pointed to the energy savings promise of new advanced semiconductor materials. And indeed, something like a 5G tower would have tremendous possible energy savings, he pointed out, since they involve large, monolithic infrastructure installations.
“There is potential for significant energy savings, perhaps as much as 50 percent within large infrastructure installations such as [5G] towers,” – Joshua Western
Putna noted that improvements in semiconductor technology could lead to substantial benefits for artificial intelligence data centers, where cooling costs represent a primary bottleneck.
“It’s a game-changer for [AI data centers] where cooling costs are a primary bottleneck.” – E. Steve Putna
Economic Considerations and Future Prospects
The fiscal cost effectiveness of producing semiconductor raw materials in space must be considered. SEIA’s Matt Francis called attention to the historic wafer pricing. He pointed out that these used to sell for sky high prices, but due to production costs plummeting that’s all changed.
“While I remember paying $20k a wafer in the early days, we are down in the hundreds of dollars range in volume markets like power,” – Matt Francis
He wondered whether launching materials into space still made sense given today’s market forces. Francis pointed out that the cost to access space is getting lower and lower. This drop may not be able to continue pace with the accelerating decrease in wafer fabrication costs here on Earth.
“When they were a prized commodity, maybe sending to space made sense. While the cost of space is decreasing, it’s not decreasing faster than the cost of producing wafers.” – Matt Francis
Western acknowledged that while space-grown substrates have great potential, there is a risk of degradation over time and across generations of growth.
“There will be a level of degradation over time and over generations of growth,” – Joshua Western
Long term, he is hopeful about the positive impact. He asserted that a space-grown substrate could improve the yield of a cutting-edge AI processor from 50% to 90%. If it further enables quantum computers to run at higher temperatures, the cost of the launch would be a tiny fraction of value creation from that alone.
“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.” – E. Steve Putna