Issue 2, 2023 - Major breakthrough in the industrialization of boron-11 isotopes

Recently, the 1000 kg/year electronic grade high abundance boron-11 isotope production process led by Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry has achieved stable mass production in Shandong Heyi Company, and successfully obtained boron trifluoride-11 products with an abundance of more than 99.
9%, and the key indicators have caught up with similar products imported from abroad, and the reaction and precision distillation coupling engineering technology of Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry has achieved another important breakthrough
in the field of isotope separation.

The project uses anisole chemical exchange method to produce boron-11 isotopes, which is another stable isotope product after the successful development and industrialization of isotopes hydrogen-2, nitrogen-15, neon-22, oxygen-18 and carbon-13 by Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry, and is also the first successful localization in China since the development of boron isotopes in recent decades
.

According to reports, after the Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry and Shandong Heyi Company formally signed a cooperation agreement in January 2020, with the national isotope center as the main body, and the technical team of the partner jointly researched key problems; Completed the pilot test in September 2021; Construction of production facilities started in March 2022
.

It is reported that high-abundance boron trifluoride-11 is an important special gas material in the manufacture of high-end chips, panels, etc.
, compared with ordinary abundance boron trifluoride doping, it can significantly improve the stability and anti-interference ability of chips, and is widely used in
communications, defense, aerospace and other fields.
Before the Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry achieved a technological breakthrough, only the United States and Georgia had 3 sets of production units for this product, and China's related technologies and products were completely dependent on imports
.

The project has developed process technologies with independent intellectual property rights, such as process simulation calculation, new filler, reaction design, process control, equipment selection, detection methods, etc.
, which not only fills the gap in China's high-abundance boron-11 isotope industry, breaks the monopoly of foreign leading enterprises, but also has great significance
for China to improve the self-sufficiency rate of semiconductor basic materials and maintain the safety of the industrial chain.