University of Michigan makes silicon from liquid metal, aims for low-cost chips

Forming silicon normally requires extreme temperatures of more than 2,000F, with the expensive energy to match. The University of Michigan has developed a technique involving liquid metal that could shed most of the heat -- and cost. By coating a liquid gallium electrode with silicon tetrachloride, researchers can generate pure silicon crystals through the gallium's electrons at a comparatively cool 180F. While the crystals are currently small, bigger examples are at least theoretically possible...