Production of hyper-pure monocrystal-line rods in continuous operation

Claim 1

A CRUCIBLE-FREE METHOD OF PRODUCING A SILICON MONOCRYSTALLINE ROD COMPRISING MELTING THE UPPER TIP ONLY OF A FIRST SILICON ROD TO FORM A MOLTEN GLOBULE OF SILICON SUPPORTED ON THE SOLID MAIN BODY OF THE FIRST SILICON ROD, AND CONTACTING WITH SAID GLOBULE A VAPOR SUBSTANCE COMPRISING A COMPOUND OF SILICON WHICH SUBSTANCE YIELDS SILICON ON CONTACT WITH THE MOLTEN GLOBULE, SAID VAPOR SUBSTANCE BEING SUPPLIED TO THE SPACE ZONE ABOUT SAID GLOBULE AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE RATE AT WHICH IT YIELDS SILICON TO THE GLOBULE, CONTACTING A SEED CRYSTAL OF MONOCRYSTALLINE SILICON WITH SAID GLOBULE, SAID SEED CRYSTAL HAVING A SMALLER CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA THAN THE AREA OF THE SUPERFACE OF THE GLOBULE, AND PULLING THE SEED CRYSTAL UPWARDLY FROM THE MOLTEN GLOBULE TO FORM A MONOCRYSTALLINE ROD OF SMALLER CROSS SECTION THAN THE FIRST SILICON ROD, THE QUANTITY OF MATERIAL OF THE MONOCRYSTALLINE ROD PULLED IN ANY ONE PASS OF THE CRYSTAL PULLING OPERATION BEING GREATER THAN THE QUANTITY OF MATERIAL COMPRISING THE GLOBULE AT ANY ONE MOMENT OF THE OPERATION, THE PULLING SPEED BEING SUCH THAT APPROXIMATELY AS MUCH SILICON SOLIDIFIERS ON THE MONOCRYSTALLINE SILICON ROD BEING PULLED AS IS NEWLY FORMED BY THERMAL DISSOCIATION OF SAID VAPOR SUBSTANCE ON THE GLOBULE.