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EP0349904A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Apparatus for casting silicon

Assignee: Nippon Steel Corp
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Filing: 1989-06-29
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-06-29
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Abstract

Abstract An apparatus for casting silicon, characteriz­ed by comprising an induction coil (7), an electrically conductive bottomless crucible (6), of which at least a part in an axial direction is divided into a plurality of parts (16) in a circumferential direction, disposed within said induction coil (7) and means (24) for heating solidified silicon (12) disposed below a boundary surface level of molten silicon (13) and solidified silicon (12) within said bottomless crucible.

Inventors

  • 👤 Kyojiro Kaneko
  • 👤 Jun-Ya Masuda

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-08 12:34
CPC Classifications
C; C30; C30B; C30B29/00; C30B29/02; C30B29/06; B; B22; B22D; B22D11/00; B22D11/001; B22D11/10; B22D11/11; B22D11/14; B22D11/141; B22D23/00; B22D23/06; C30B11/00; C30B11/001; C30B11/002; C30B11/003

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim 64 words
An apparatus for casting silicon, characteriz­ed by comprising an induction coil, an electrically conductive bottomless crucible, of which at least a part in an axial direction is divided into a plurality of parts in a circumferential direction, disposed within said induction coil and means for heating solidified silicon disposed below a boundary surface level of molten silicon and solidified silicon within said bottomless crucible.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 64 words
An apparatus for casting silicon, characteriz­ed by comprising an induction coil, an electrically conductive bottomless crucible, of which at least a part in an axial direction is divided into a plurality of parts in a circumferential direction, disposed within said induction coil and means for heating solidified silicon disposed below a boundary surface level of molten silicon and solidified silicon within said bottomless crucible.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 62 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said heating means is controlled so that a temperature gradient in the axial direction from the boundary surface of said molten silicon and solidified silicon to at least a portion having a temperature of 500°C of solidifi­ed silicon may amount for 25°C/cm or more but 100°C/cm or less.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 33 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said heating means is a radiation heating means provided below said bottomless crucible in a communicated manner.
Claim 5
Independent Claim 33 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in claime 3, characterized in that an exothermic body of said radiation heating means is formed of graphite, high-melting point metal or electrically conductive ceramics.
Claim 6
Independent Claim 39 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that slits for dividing said bottomless crucible into a plurality of parts extend to a lower end of the bottomless crucible.
Claim 7
Independent Claim 45 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said bottomless crucible has a hollow structure and is provided with an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe for passing a coolant through an inside thereof.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 50 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that said bottomless crucible excepting an upper part thereof is divided into parts in a circumferential direction and said inlet pipe and outlet pipe of the coolant are mounted on the upper part of the bottomless crucible.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 20 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in claim 6 or 7, characterized in that said coolant is water.
Claim 10
Independent Claim 37 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that gaps between the circumferentially divided parts of said bottomless crucible have a width of 0.3 to 1.0 mm.
Claim 11
Independent Claim 40 words
An apparatus for casting silicon as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that an inner wall surface of said bottomless crucible has an inclination expanding outwards at an angle of 0.4 to 2.0° downwards.

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