DEC. 11–GOLDEN, Colo.–Isonics Corp., a developer of isotopically engineered semiconductor materials for life sciences and health care applications, has received an order for silicon-28 trichlorosilane from Silex Systems Limited.

Silicon-28 is the isotopically pure form of normal silicon made by purification at the sub-atomic level. This high degree of purity improves silicon-28’s thermal conductivity by over 60 percent and enables semiconductor chips to operate at lower temperatures or operate faster, improving product performance or manufacturing yield.

The initial order from Silex Systems Limited is valued at $200,000. Silex Systems Limited is an Australian company developing laser isotope separation capability for a number of materials, including silicon-28.

Silex recently announced that it has entered into a collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corp.(SUMCO), the world’s second largest manufacturer of silicon wafers, to investigate the commercial potential of silicon-28 wafers. According to officials, Silex has stated that it believes it could have its own commercial production of silicon-28 as soon as 2006.

“The SUMCO/Silex collaboration is an indication of the momentum that is rapidly building for high thermal conductivity silicon-28,” says Stephen J. Burden, Isonics’ vice president of semiconductor materials. “

According to Silex, SUMCO will produce epitaxial wafers for several semiconductor manufacturers that have already requested evaluation lots. Isonics and Silex have been cooperating since 1999 as both companies have similar interests in stable isotopes, particularly silicon.