Segregation and evaporation behaviors of aluminum and calcium in silicon during solidification process induced by electron beam.

An experimental investigation into the removal of aluminum (Al) and calcium (Ca) from molten silicon by using electron beam melting was carried out. Based on the distributions of Al and Ca along the growth direction of the ingot under different solidification conditions, the influence of segregation and evaporation behaviors on the removal of such impurities with both high saturated vapor pressure and low segregation coefficients was investigated. The results showed that the distributions of impurities depend upon the interaction between segregation and evaporation, so that the removal efficiency can be further improved by adjusting the melting parameters. Compared with the traditional electron beam melting process, the energy consumption decreases by 20% during the whole melting and solidification process. It is considered to be a more effective way for the purification of silicon and the reduction of energy consumption by electron beam melting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]