Silicet · Technologies for Microsystems
About the Company
About Us
General informations
Global Supplier of advanced Etching Technologies for Micromachining
Silicet is a specialized global supplier of advanced technologies for substrate treatment in liquid systems. Our main expertise is the development and production of high quality wafer holders and flexible process units for chemical and electrochemical etching as well as for electroplating processes.
As developer with many years of experience in the field of industrial and product design we are specialized in constructing and producing tools specific to our customers applications. We deliver our products to Europe, Asia and the United States of America. In Germany we work together with customers like Siemens, Bosch, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Fraunhofer Institutes and several universities.
Mission statement
Intelligent Solutions for High-Tech Products
Micromachining is a modern technology with the prognosis of enormous growth rates even. Often, for production facilities of wafer processing in small volumes, no professional equipment exists. Sensors and actuators mostly are manufactured under simple conditions and the processing of silicon wafers often is carried out by conventional self made tools.
A sophisticated technology is necessary for an industrial manufacturing and for the guarantee of reproducible results. We address ourselves to the task of developing and manufacturing production tools and process units which meet the high standard of micromachining. Thus our patented wafer holders and process units are ergonomically elaborate and facilitate both a quick, safe and efficient production as well as the reproducibility of results.
Development of Silicet
From One-Man-Business to International Enterprise
The history of silicet began in the year 1983, when industrial designer and engineer Hans Moritz founded his design office. Specialized in medical devices, laboratory apparatus, investment goods as well as in interface design and constructing prototypes, 1996/97 Siemens placed the order to develop a wafer holder for them. Thus the first patented wafer holder BASIC for 4″ wafers emerged.
Shortly after Siemens charged the design office Hans Moritz Design with the construction of an electrochemical wet etching device which allowed etching of 8 wafers simultaneously in KOH on verifiable conditions. This bench was the first semi-automatic, closed wet etching line for electrochemical etching worldwide. Now it was possible to process wafers separately or in batch – cost effectively and with a high standard of constant quality.
For the development of the wafer holders Hans Moritz won the Kassel Prize for Innovation in the year 1999. In the same year his design office received a bulk order for another wet etching bench.
This project clearly showed the limits of capacity to the one-man-business. Therefore Hans Moritz joined forces with Harald Kraus, the chairman of the super-visory board for several years.
Since the foundation, enormous efforts have been invested in product development, and today silicet wafer holders are used mainly in research laboratories and universities as well as in many large companies around the world. The core competence of silicet is today in the development of customer-specific solutions in the product segment of wafer holders as well as complete, flexible process plants for electroplating.
From mid-2021, the Silicet products are produced and sold by the company VX Consulting under the Silicet brand. With inhouse 3D construction we are able to handle special designs more quickly. We operate own plating units for continues improvements in our R&D center.