Gilder added that Ball Semiconductor has the prospects of being like Texas Instruments in that Ball Semiconductor's Chief Executive Officer, Akira Ishikawa , has founded a bold, new company during a crucial time in the semiconductor industry. At the technology conference, the company announced that it also has demonstrated a process for spherical lithography. Ball Semiconductor's proprietary spherical lithography system includes sphere alignment, mask design, and mirror design. The company developed an algorithm to transfer 2D mask patterns onto the surface of the 3D sphere. In placing the integrated circuit pattern on the sphere, Ball Semiconductor also validated its resist coating and development, etching and chemical vapor deposition processes.
Spherical lithography is one of five critical components needed to produce spherical semiconductors.
With the collaboration of our partners and customers, we believe Ball Semiconductor technology can change the shape of electronics and take the technology world to a new frontier. Nearing prototype production, the silicon spheres could reduce the cost of integrated circuit manufacturing by up to 90 percent through the use of hermetically sealed tubes in place of clean rooms, and processing cycle times of days instead of months. Ball Semiconductor, Inc., based in Allen, Texas, researches, designs and intends to manufacture and sell spherical silicon semiconductors. Incorporated, Ball Semiconductor is a privately held company. Copyright 1997 Ball Semiconductor, Inc .