Production of sintered bodies from powdered crystalline materials

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING A CHEMICALLY PURE SINTERED SILICON BODY FROM GRANULAR SILICON MATERIAL, COMPRISING CHARGING A QUARTZ VESSEL WITH THE GRANULAR SILICON MATERIAL, WITHOUT BINDING AGENT, ELECTO-INDUCTIVELY HEATING THE GRANULAR MATERIAL IN THE VESSEL IN AN ATMOSPHERE INERT TO THE SILICON, SAID HEATING BEING BY INDUCING ELECTRIC CURRENTS IN SAID SILICON AND BEING TO AN OVER-ALL TEMPERATURE BELOW THE MELTING POINT OF THE SILICON MATERIAL, THE HEATING BEING TO AN EXTENT SUCH THAT THE GRANULES ARE FUSED TO ONE ANOTHER SUBSTANTIALLY ONELY AT MUTUAL POINTS OF CONTACT, THE CURRENT DENSITY AT SAID POINTS OF CONTACT BEING SUCH THAT THE SILICON GRANULES ARE HEATED AT SAID POINTS TO THE SILICON FUSION TEMPERATURE, THE SILICON GRANULES AS THEY ARE BEING WELDED HAVING NO CONTACT WITH MATERIAL OTHER THAN THE SILICON, EXCEPT FOR THE QUARTZ CONTAINER, THE QUARTZ VESSEL REMAINING RELATIVELY COOLER TAN THE SILICON, WHEREBY THEY ARE READILY SEPARATED.