Space Forge, a UK-based start-up, recently powered up an orbital furnace on its ForgeStar-1 satellite. They’re excited about what space might enable them to do with super-hot plasma. This innovative experiment, which launched last December, seeks to grow perfect semiconductor crystals in a microgravity environment. Space Forge utilizes conditions in orbit that can produce uniform crystal growth. This discovery has the potential to be transformative for the future of electronics.
Space Forge became interested in orbital manufacturing after it was founded in 2018. The startup thinks space produced materials have the potential to develop electronic components that are dramatically more efficient. The company has recently finished a series of orbital test flights to prove out its return technology. They’re preparing to conduct additional tests this fall. This experimental flying furnace, developed at North Carolina State University, produces the potentially useful seed crystals. These crystals will be sent to Earth for further processing into substrates of gallium nitride, aluminum nitride or silicon carbide.
Joshua Western, co-founder and CEO of Space Forge. By taking advantage of the microgravity environment, the company’s goal is to produce crystals without the impurities that can disrupt 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
The Role of Space-Grown Crystals in Electronics
The lessons learned from the production of these high-performance materials in space would lead to tremendous advancements in many technology sectors back here on Earth. Space Forge is looking to capitalize on the growing public interest in space-grown crystals. These topological crystals have great potential for groundbreaking applications in ultrafast photonic networks and drug discovery technology. These advancements can provide significant energy savings and efficiency gains throughout many sectors.
Western points out that using materials grown in space might save some serious energy.
“There is potential for significant energy savings, perhaps as much as 50 percent within large infrastructure installations such as 5G towers,” – Joshua Western
Industry experts are confident that these semiconductor breakthroughs would be particularly game changing to data centers that power artificial intelligence applications.
“Space-grown crystals have demonstrated significantly higher electron mobility,” – E. Steve Putna
“This could be a game-changer for AI data centers where cooling costs are a primary bottleneck.” – E. Steve Putna
Aside from their rarity, what really makes space-grown crystals so special are their comparative impressive performance-enhancing capabilities compared to more traditional processors. Having the ability to increase yield rates by a factor of 10 times or more, such materials would be priceless in next-generation computing.
“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
Future Prospects and Challenges
Space Forge, a UK-based manufacturing startup, is currently testing its ForgeStar-1 satellite. Our objective is to produce high quality crystal seed materials, and to produce data that will validate the feasibility of repeatable manufacturing processes in space. The satellite is designed to deploy a novel heat shield during its de-orbit maneuver later this year, further testing its capabilities under various conditions.
Experts are abuzz with excitement about the potential of materials grown in space. Yet, they call for caution when it comes to the economic viability of these projects. Fellows Matt Francis and John de la Torre bring attention to an encouraging trend. Even as the cost of launching such materials into space decreases, it may not be decreasing fast enough relative to the cost of fabricating semiconductors on Earth.
“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’s not even talking about the economic case for producing specific materials up there.
“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
NM’s Anne Wilson fits the bill and offers a unique approach. Though microgravity may not be the ideal solution for the production of bulk materials, she contends it has tremendous potential for more specialized applications.
“I don’t think that microgravity is going to be ideal for the manufacture of bulk materials,” – Anne Wilson
“However, niche materials for specific applications might be worth the investment.” – Anne Wilson