KR101441856B1 - Apparatus for Refining Silicon - Google Patents

Abstract

A silicon refining apparatus is disclosed.
At least one electron gun provided in the vacuum chamber for irradiating an electron beam, a raw material supply unit for supplying a silicon raw material in the vacuum chamber, A silicon melt portion in which the silicon raw material is charged and the silicon raw material is melted by the electron beam to form a silicon melt, a unidirectional solidifying portion for solidifying the silicon melt supplied from the silicon melt portion, And a second channel part of the unidirectional solidification part being in contact with each other, wherein the center axis of the connection trough part is located at a position different from the center axis of the inlet of the raw material supply part, and a silicon refining device for removing volatile impurities May be provided. Accordingly, the movement path of the silicon melt can be made long, and the time and space for removing the volatile impurities present therein can be sufficiently secured, thereby improving the efficiency of vacuum refining.

Description

[0001] Apparatus for Refining Silicon [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a silicon refining apparatus, and more particularly, to a refining apparatus for silicon, which is capable of improving the refining effect of silicon by using a one-way solidification technique in performing silicon casting based on an electron- And a silicon refining apparatus for producing an ingot.

Recently, according to the international trend, solar power generation is widely used as an environmentally friendly development method in the world. Such solar power generation takes place in solar cells that convert light energy into electrical energy. These solar cells are made up of small silicon crystals.

The purity of the silicon constituting the solar cell is usually expressed as 5N, 6N, and 9N. Here, N means the number of 9 in terms of weight%, and 5 N means 99.999% purity.

For silicon producing semiconductors requiring ultra-high purity, the purity reaches 11N. However, even when the purity of silicon constituting the solar cell is 5 to 7N, it is known that the photoconversion efficiency similar to the case of having a purity of 11N can be obtained merely by adding a simple gettering process, so that ultra high purity is not required.

In addition, silicon that produces semiconductors is manufactured through chemical vapor deposition (CVD). However, such a silicon production process is known to generate a large amount of pollutants, low production efficiency, and high production cost.

Accordingly, a metallurgical refining process capable of mass-producing silicon of high purity at a low manufacturing cost has been actively developed in the silicon constituting the solar cell.

The production of polycrystalline silicon ingots for solar cells is basically characterized by directional solidification.

When the silicon particles are filled in the crucible and melted at a temperature of 1420 ° C or higher, the solidification heat of the silicon is removed in a certain direction under the crucible, and then the solidification process spreads from the bottom of the crucible to the upper side.

The impurities can be collected toward the upper side of the ingot by inducing the impurities to the liquid phase by forming the layer separation of the solid-liquid interface through the directional solidification step.

Typical processes such as vacuum refining, oxidation treatment and unidirectional solidification refining have been developed for metallurgical refining of high purity silicon for solar power generation.

Among these metallurgical refining methods, silicon manufacturing technology by a metal melting method such as a vacuum refining method and a unidirectional solidifying refining method is easy to control characteristics, and there is little contamination due to impurities during operation, and active research is proceeding.

Here, vacuum refining refers to a refining process in which impurities having a higher vapor pressure than silicon are removed from a molten metal after melting a metal raw material, and representative nonmetal impurities such as Al, Ca, Mn, and P can be removed .

Unidirectional solidification refining is a refining process in which silicon segregates impurities along the solid-liquid interface during the phase transition from liquid to solid. The refining process is a typical metal impurity such as Fe, Ti, Cr, Cu, Ni, and the like can be removed.

Conventionally, ingots for solar cells have been produced once by batch method, and studies have been conducted in the direction of enlarging the size of the ingot by such batch method. However, it is difficult to infinitely increase the size of the ingot, There was a problem in mass production.

Korean Patent No. 10-2011-0050371 Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0120617

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for continuously producing polysilicon ingots for solar cells, To provide a silicon refining apparatus for a silicon wafer.

Further, there is provided a silicon refining apparatus for removing volatile impurities which improves the silicon refining efficiency by ensuring time and space for volatile impurities in molten silicon to be refined in melting the silicon based on the electron beam melting method I want to.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum chamber comprising: a vacuum chamber for maintaining a vacuum atmosphere; at least one electron gun provided in the vacuum chamber for irradiating an electron beam; A silicon melt portion in which the silicon raw material is charged and the silicon raw material is melted by the electron beam to form a silicon melt, a supply portion for supplying the silicon melt portion from the silicon melt portion, And the silicon melt portion includes a connection channel portion in which a first channel portion of the silicon melting portion and a second channel portion of the unidirectional solidification portion are in contact with each other, The amount of silicon that is different from the central axis of the inlet of the supply part And to provide a device.

In addition, the first imaginary line extending from the central axis of the connecting bath can be parallel to the second imaginary line extending from the center axis of the inlet of the raw material supply portion.

In addition, the first virtual line and the second virtual line may be spaced apart from each other in the first silicon melt portion.

The molten silicon may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape and the first imaginary line extending from the central axis of the connecting bath may be perpendicular to the second imaginary line extending from the central axis of the raw material supply unit.

In addition, a vertical point between the first imaginary line and the second imaginary line may be maximally adjacent to an edge of the silicon melting portion.

In addition, the connecting pipe includes a lower face portion and a pair of side face portions extending substantially vertically at both ends of the lower face portion, and the cross-sectional area of the lower face portion may be reduced according to a direction in which the silicon melt is fed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a silicon wafer, comprising: a one-directional solidification part having a silicon melt part having a first channel part at one end, a second channel part contacting a first channel part, And the inlet of the raw material supply portion is disposed above the silicon melting portion so that a path for melting the silicon raw material to the silicon melting material and moving to the connection molten portion is maximized .

The silicon fused portion may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first channel portion may be located at an edge portion of the silicon fused portion.

The inlet of the raw material supply unit may be disposed above the silicon melt unit such that a straight line connecting the first channel unit and the inlet of the raw material supply unit is maximized.

The width of the channel formed by the first channel portion and the second channel portion may be narrowed according to a direction in which the silicon melt is transported.

In addition, the silicon melting portion or the unidirectional solidifying portion may have a copper material.

The flow path portion includes a first flow path portion including a plurality of flow paths formed by a plurality of slits, and a second flow path portion extending from the first flow path portion, May be connected to each other to form one flow path.

The unidirectional solidification portion includes a first cooling channel portion and a second cooling channel portion through which a fluid flows, and the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the first cooling channel portion is greater than the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the second cooling channel portion Can be many.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a silicon melt, comprising the steps of: forming a first silicon melt portion in which silicon melt is stored, the first silicon melt portion having a first channel portion and a second channel portion contacting the first channel portion, Wherein the second silicon melt portion and the second silicon melt portion have a third channel portion and a unidirectional solidification portion having a fourth channel portion contacting the third channel portion to form a second connection trough portion, The silicon refining apparatus may be provided such that the path through which the molten silicon moves to the second connecting bath is maximized.

The second silicon fused portion may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the third channel portion may be located at an edge portion of the second silicon fused portion.

The second channel portion may be disposed above the second silicon melt portion such that a straight line connecting the second channel portion and the third channel portion is the largest.

The inlet of the raw material supply unit may be arranged such that the path for melting the silicon raw material to the first silicon fused portion and moving to the first connection trench is maximized.

The first silicon fused portion may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first channel portion may be located at an edge portion of the first silicon fused portion.

The inlet of the raw material supply unit may be disposed above the silicon melt unit such that a straight line connecting the first channel unit and the inlet of the raw material supply unit is maximized.

The width of the channel formed by the first channel portion and the second channel portion or the channel formed by the third channel portion and the fourth channel portion of the unidirectional solidification portion, The silicon melt can be narrowed depending on the direction in which the molten silicon is transported.

The silicon fused portion may include respective flow path portions disposed on the outer side, and the flow path portions disposed on the adjacent outer side may be spatially connected to each other through the inside of the silicon fused portion.

The silicon melt portion may have a plurality of flow path portions disposed on the outer side, and a flow path width of at least one of the plurality of flow path portions may be larger than a flow path width of the remaining flow path portions.

The unidirectional solidification portion may have a plurality of cooling channel portions disposed on the outer side, and the flow channel width of at least one of the plurality of cooling channel portions may be larger than the remaining channel width.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following effects.

First, the silicon raw material is supplied to the silicon melting portion and the electron beam is irradiated to elongate the silicon first, and the flow path of the molten silicon is lengthened before the molten silicon is supplied to the unidirectional solidifying portion, so that volatile impurities are removed in the molten silicon And the vacuum refining effect can be improved.

Secondly, since the silicon refining effect of the molten silicon in the silicon melting portion is increased, it is not necessary to remove volatile impurities in the silicon through a separate device or a chemical method, so that the polysilicon ingot can be continuously mass- The manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Thirdly, since a plurality of silicon melt portions are provided and the path through which the molten silicon moves the plurality of silicon melt portions is lengthened, time and space for removing volatile impurities from the silicon melt can be increased, and the refining effect can be further improved.

1 is a schematic view of a silicon refining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic view of a silicon refining apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view schematically showing a silicon melt according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a view showing the outside of Fig. 3. Fig.
5 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a fluid supply unit is disposed in a silicon melt according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a view showing the top view of FIG. 5 and a view seen from one side.
7 is a perspective view schematically showing a second silicon melt according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a view showing the outside of Fig. 7. Fig.
9 is a view showing a cut surface taken along the line AA in Fig.
10 is a perspective view showing a state in which a fluid supply portion is disposed in a silicon melting portion according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a view showing the state of FIG. 9 when viewed from the top and FIG.
12 is a perspective view schematically showing the outer side of the unidirectional solidification part according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 13 is a sectional view of Fig. 12. Fig.
14 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a unidirectional solidification part according to an embodiment of the present invention.
15 is a view showing a state in which the fluid supply portion is disposed in the unidirectional solidification portion.
Fig. 16 is a view showing two kinds of connecting troughs having different shapes.
17 is a cross-sectional view showing the thickness of the silicon melt held in the two kinds of connecting bath portions shown in Fig.
FIG. 18 is an experimental result table qualitatively showing the thickness of the silicon melt held in the two kinds of connecting baths shown in FIG. 16; FIG.
FIG. 19 is a view showing a connecting bath according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a connecting bath according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 21 is a view showing the arrangement of the raw material supply portion and the connecting hot runner in FIG. 1; FIG.
22 is a view showing an arrangement of a raw material supply portion and a connecting bath portion applied to a silicon refining apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is a view showing an arrangement of a raw material supply part and a connecting bath part applied to a silicon refining apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention. FIG.
24 is a view schematically showing the arrangement of the raw material supply portion, the first connecting bath portion and the second connecting bath portion and the movement path of the silicon melt applied to the silicon refining apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the appended drawings illustrate the present invention in order to more easily explain the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. You will know.

In describing the embodiments of the present invention, it is to be noted that components having the same function are denoted by the same names and numerals, but are substantially not identical to those of the conventional polysilicon manufacturing apparatus.

Also, the terms used in the present application are used only to describe certain embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component or a combination thereof described in the specification, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

1 is a schematic view of a silicon refining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a silicon refining apparatus includes a vacuum chamber 100, an electron gun 200, a silicon melting unit 300, and a unidirectional solidifying unit 400.

The vacuum chamber 100 maintains a vacuum atmosphere therein so that impurities can be evaporated in the silicon melt, which will be described later. The pressure inside the vacuum chamber 100 may be about 10-5 torr.

At the upper end of the vacuum chamber 100, there is provided a raw material input part 120 through which a silicon raw material in the form of particles can be supplied.

The inside of the raw material charging part 120 may be provided with a cooling water path to prevent damage due to heat due to an electron beam which will be described later.

The raw material input portion 120 may include a raw material supply line 122 and an input port 124 of the raw material supply portion. The input port 124 of the raw material supply portion may include a silicon raw material The position and angle at which the material is supplied can be adjusted.

The electron gun 200 is installed in the vacuum chamber 100, and may be a plurality of electron guns.

The electron gun 200 according to the present embodiment includes a first electron gun 210 and a second electron gun 220.

The first electron gun 210 is installed at the upper end of the vacuum chamber 100 so that an electron beam is irradiated into the vacuum chamber 100.

The silicon fused portion 300 is disposed in a region irradiated with the electron beam by the first electron gun 210. In the silicon melting portion 300, the silicon raw material in particle form is charged from the raw material input portion 120, and the charged silicon raw material is melted by the electron beam accelerated and accumulated by the first electron gun 210 And is formed of a silicon melt P2.

Meanwhile, the first electron gun 210 may accelerate and accumulate the first electron beam to have an output energy of 30 to 35 kWh / cm 2.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first electron gun 210 may have an output energy for preventing the behavior of the silicon melt from becoming unstable, such as the silicon melt bouncing to the outside by the electron beam.

It is preferable that the silicon melting unit 300 has a copper material in order to block inflow of impurities generated by the material of the silicon melt itself. In addition, the silicon melting portion 300 having a copper material may include a flow path portion that can easily control the cooling efficiency to prevent the silicon melting portion 300 from being damaged by the electron beam. A detailed description of the silicon melting portion including the flow path portion will be described later.

The unidirectional solidification unit 400 is disposed in a region irradiated with the second electron beam by the second electron gun 220 and is adjacent to the silicon melting unit 300.

The unidirectional solidification part 400 may have a copper material, like the silicon melting part 300.

The unidirectional solidification part 400 may continuously cast the silicon melt P2 and induce segregation of metal impurities to improve silicon refining and high purity polysilicon production efficiency.

Meanwhile, the second electron gun 220 may accelerate and accumulate the second electron beam to have an output energy of 8 to 14 kWh / cm 2.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the second electron gun 210 may have an output for preventing the behavior of the silicon melt to become unstable, such as the molten state of the second electron beam, You can have energy.

The first channel portion 301 of the silicon melting portion 300 and the second channel portion 401 of the unidirectional solidification portion 400 may be in contact with each other, The portion 500 provides a channel through which the silicon melt can be supplied to the unidirectional solidification portion 400 from the silicon melt portion 300.

The connecting pipe passage part 500 includes a bottom part 501 and a pair of side parts 502 extending substantially vertically at both ends of the bottom part 501.

Thus, the silicon melt stored in the silicon melting portion 300 is supplied to the unidirectional solidifying portion 400 through the connecting portion 500 by the amount of the silicon raw material supplied through the raw material supplying portion 122 .

In addition, the distance of the side portions 502 facing each other in the upward direction from the bottom portion 501 can be increased. As a result, the electron beam can be irradiated onto the silicon melt flowing along the connecting pipe 500, thereby improving the silicon refining effect and reducing the area irradiated with the electron beam in the peripheral portion of the connecting pipe 500 The durability of the connecting pipe 500 can be improved.

A detailed description of the connecting bath part 500 will be described later with reference to the drawings.

2 is a schematic view of a silicon refining apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the silicon refining apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention is similar to the one embodiment of the present invention described above, so that a description of a configuration having the same function will be omitted.

Unlike the embodiment of the present invention, the silicon melting portion includes the first silicon melting portion 310 and the second silicon melting portion 320.

The first silicon fused portion 310 is disposed in a region irradiated with the electron beam, the silicon raw material is charged, and the silicon raw material is melted by the electron beam to form a silicon melt.

The first silicon melted portion 310 has a first channel portion 311 and a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

The second silicon fused portion 320 has a second channel portion 321 contacting the first channel portion 311 and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

The first channel portion 311 and the second channel portion 321 are in contact with each other and the silicon melt is melted in the first silicon melt portion 310 by the second silicon melt (320). ≪ / RTI >

The unidirectional solidification part 400 can solidify the silicon melt supplied from the second silicon melt part 320 and provide a space in which the polysilicon ingot is formed.

The second silicon melt portion 320 has a third channel portion 322 and the one-way solidification portion 400 has a fourth channel portion 402.

The second channel portion 520 is formed by the third channel portion 322 and the fourth channel portion 402 being in contact with each other and the silicon melt is transferred from the second silicon melt portion 320 to the one- (400). ≪ / RTI >

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a silicon melting portion according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view showing the outside of FIG.

3 and 4, a silicon melting portion applied to a silicon refining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The silicon fused portion 300 is disposed outside the silicon fused portion 300 and includes a flow path portion 340 through which the fluid flows.

The flow path portion 340 includes a first flow path portion 341 and a second flow path portion 342.

The first flow path portion 341 may have a plurality of flow paths formed by a plurality of slits.

That is, the first flow path portion 341 having a plurality of slits serves to increase the surface area outside the silicon melting portion 300.

 Therefore, when the cooling fluid flows through the first flow path portion 341, the area of the cooling fluid that can be in contact with the outside of the silicon melting portion 300 increases, thereby improving the cooling efficiency.

In addition, when the silicon melting portion 300 is exposed to the electron beam for a long time, damage due to heat can be prevented.

The second flow path portion 342 extends to the first flow path portion 341, and the plurality of flow paths are connected to each other to form one flow path.

Cutting process or the like may be performed to have the first flow path portion 341 and the second flow path portion 342 outside the silicon melting portion 300.

The second flow path portion 342 has a structure in which the first flow path portion 341 is connected to the first flow path portion 341. The second flow path portion 342 is connected to the first flow path portion 341, It is not necessary to form the above-mentioned cutting tool.

The silicon melt 300 has a channel 360 for providing a channel through which the silicon melt can move.

The second flow path portion 342 may be disposed closer to the channel portion 360 than the first flow path portion 341.

In addition, the second flow path portion 342 is connected to the first flow path portion 341 to form one flow path, so that the width of the flow path of the second flow path portion 342 is increased.

The silicon melt according to another aspect of the present invention includes a first flow path portion 341 and a second flow path portion 342 and a flow amount flowing in the second flow path portion 342 is greater than a flow amount of the first flow path portion 341 The flow rate may be larger than the flow rate.

Accordingly, the second flow path portion 342 can increase the cooling rate of the cooling fluid and effectively remove the heat around the channel portion 360. [

Meanwhile, the silicon fused portion 300 applied to the silicon refining apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention may have a plurality of flow path portions 340 disposed outside.

The flow path width of at least one of the plurality of flow paths 340 may be larger than the flow path width of the remaining flow paths 341.

The at least one passage portion 343 may be disposed around the channel portion 360 of the silicon melt portion 300. Therefore, by having a structure in which the flow path width of the at least one flow path portion 343 is large, the heat around the channel portion 360 can be effectively removed by increasing the cooling rate of the cooling fluid.

Accordingly, since the channel width of the at least one channel portion 343 is disposed around the channel portion 360, the channel portion 360 of the silicon melting portion 300, which can directly irradiate the electron beam, It is possible to prevent damage due to the breakage.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which a fluid supply unit is disposed in a silicon melting unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a view showing the top view of FIG. 5 and a view from one side.

5 and 6, the position where fluid is supplied to the flow path portion will be described.

And a fluid supply part 370 for supplying fluid to the flow path part.

The fluid supply part 370 is installed outside the silicon melt part 300 and can supply the fluid to the second flow path part 342.

The silicon melt 300 applied to the silicon refining apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes respective flow channels 340 disposed on the outer sides thereof, And can be spatially connected to each other.

In addition, a region penetrating between the flow paths 340 may be an edge portion of the silicon melting portion 300.

The fluid supply part 370 for supplying a cooling fluid may be installed at each of the outer sides of the silicon melting part 300 but may be disposed outside the silicon melting part 300 according to another aspect of the present invention The flow path portion 340 may be spatially connected to have a structure capable of cooling the silicon melting portion 300 through one fluid supply portion 370.

Accordingly, the supply amount of the cooling fluid can be easily controlled through the fluid supply part 370, and the structure for cooling the silicon melting part 300 can be simplified, and maintenance and management can be facilitated.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing a second silicon melt according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a view showing the outside of FIG. 7. FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a flow path portion disposed in a silicon melting portion applied to a silicon refining apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention will be described.

As described above, the silicon melting unit 300 includes the first silicon melting unit 310 and the second silicon melting unit 320.

Since the second silicon melting portion 320 shown in FIG. 7 includes the first connection molten iron portion 510 and the second connection molten iron portion 520, the second silicon molten portion 320 is formed on the outer side of the second silicon melt portion 320 The first flow path portion 341 for forming a plurality of flow paths and the first flow path portion 341 for forming the first flow path portion 341 And the second flow path portion 342 is connected.

9 is a view showing a cut surface taken along the line A-A in Fig.

9, the second channel portion 321 or the third channel portion 322 of the second silicon melt portion 320 is formed around the second channel portion 321, which is larger than the channel width of the first channel portion 341, (344) may be disposed.

Accordingly, when the cooling fluid is supplied to the second flow path portion 344, the second channel portion 321 or the third channel portion 322 can be rapidly cooled.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which a fluid supply unit is disposed in a silicon melting portion according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a view showing a state when the fluid supply unit is viewed from above and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the fluid supply unit 351 may be disposed on an upper portion of the corner where the first connection pipe passage 510 and the second connection pipe passage 520 are not disposed.

The cooling fluid supplied to the fluid supply part 370 flows along the flow path part 340 from the outside of the second silicon fused part 320 to increase the cooling efficiency for a long time.

In addition, when the cooling fluid flows all over the supplied outer side of the second silicon melt portion 320, the cooling fluid flows to the edge portion of the second silicon melt portion 320 through the region passing through the flow path portions, .

The cooling fluid passes through the flow path portion 340 of the peripheral portion 360 of the silicon fused portion and then passes through the flow path portion provided on the lower surface portion of the silicon fused portion and flows through the fluid discharge portion 380 to the outside Can be discharged.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the positions of the first flow path portion and the second flow path portion according to another aspect of the present invention will be described in more detail.

The silicon melting portion 300 includes a central portion 361 forming a storage space for the silicon melt and a peripheral portion 362 defining the central portion 361 and a channel portion 360 formed on the peripheral portion 362 do.

The first flow path portion 341 may be disposed corresponding to the center portion 361 of the silicon melting portion 300.

The second flow path portion 342 may be disposed corresponding to the peripheral portion 362 of the silicon melt portion 300.

Further, the second flow path portion 343 may be disposed adjacent to the channel portion 360.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view schematically showing an outer side of the unidirectional solidification part according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 13 is a sectional view of FIG. 12, and FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a unidirectional solidification part according to an embodiment of the present invention .

The unidirectional solidification part 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention may have a plurality of cooling channel parts 440 disposed outside.

Since the unidirectional solidification part 400 has a plurality of cooling channel parts 440, the surface area outside the unidirectional solidification part 400 is increased, thereby improving the cooling efficiency for a long time in the continuous refining process of silicon .

The plurality of cooling channel portions 440 are formed by a plurality of slits on the outer side of the unidirectional solidification portion 400 and are provided in the cooling channel portion 450 of at least one of the plurality of cooling channel portions 440. [ The width may be greater than the remaining width of the channel.

At least one of the cooling channel portions 450 may be disposed on the outer side of the unidirectional solidification portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the unidirectional solidification part 400 includes a first cooling channel part 450 and a second cooling channel part 440 through which fluid flows, and the first cooling channel part 450 may be greater than the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the second cooling channel portion 440. [

The first cooling channel portion 450 may be disposed on the outer side of the unidirectional solidification portion 400.

Accordingly, the first cooling channel portion 450 is disposed on the outer side of the one-way solidification portion 400 where the electron beam can directly be exposed, thereby allowing the fluid to be cooled more than the second cooling channel portion 440 by the first cooling It is possible to flow through the flow path portion 450 and improve the cooling speed of the upper portion outside the unidirectional solidification portion 400.

15 is a view showing a state in which the fluid supply portion is disposed in the unidirectional solidification portion.

The unidirectional solidification unit 400 includes a first cooling fluid supply unit 471 connected to the upper cooling channel unit 440 with respect to the center of the unidirectional solidification unit 400 and a second cooling fluid supply unit 471 connected to the center of the unidirectional solidification unit 400 And a second cooling fluid supply unit 472 connected to the lower cooling channel unit 440 as a reference.

The first cooling fluid supply part 471 and the second cooling fluid supply part 472 are not shown in the figure, but can be controlled by one cooler.

Accordingly, by controlling the fluid supplied to the first cooling fluid supply part 471 and the second cooling fluid supply part 472 through the one cooler, the installation and maintenance cost can be reduced.

Meanwhile, the fluid supplied to the first cooling fluid supply part 471 and the second cooling fluid supply part 472 can be controlled by the plurality of coolers.

The flow rate of the fluid supplied to the first cooling fluid supply unit 471 and the second cooling fluid supply unit 472 is controlled individually so that the cooling flow channel unit 440 and the cooling channel unit The temperature of the fluid in the first chamber 440 can be individually controlled to improve the cooling efficiency.

As described above, since the fluid is supplied through the first cooling fluid supply part 471 and the second cooling fluid supply part 472, the unidirectional solidification part 400 reduces the time and the passage time of the fluid being supplied and discharged The cooling efficiency can be increased.

The unidirectional solidification unit 400 may include a third cooling fluid supply unit that can cool the graphite dummy bar installed in the unidirectional solidification unit 400, although not shown in the drawing.

The connecting bath part will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 16 to FIG.

Fig. 16 is a view showing two kinds of connecting troughs having different shapes.

The lower surface of the connecting bath part 500a shown in FIG. 16 (a) is flat, and the side parts facing each other are parallel.

That is, the cross-sectional area of the lower portion of the connection pipe 500a is constant according to the direction in which the silicon melt is transferred from the silicon melt portion 300 to the unidirectional solidification portion 400.

The connection tuyer part 500b according to one aspect of the present invention shown in FIG. 16 (b) is arranged in a direction in which the silicon melt P2 is transferred from the silicon melting part 300 to the unidirectional solidifying part 400 The sectional area of the lower portion is reduced.

In addition, the width of the channel of the connecting bath part 500b according to another aspect of the present invention may be narrowed according to the direction in which the silicon melt is fed.

As described above, the connecting trough part 500b according to one aspect of the present invention is not limited to the shape in which the cross-sectional area of the bottom part is small, and the width of the channel of the connecting trough part 500b is not limited to the direction , It is possible to secure a time during which the silicon melt can exist in the connecting pipe portion 500b.

In addition, the lower surface of the connecting bath part 500b is flat.

17 is a cross-sectional view showing the thickness of the silicon melt held in the two kinds of connecting bath portions shown in Fig.

That is, FIG. 17 is a graph showing experimental results for comparing the thicknesses of silicon melt held in the two kinds of connection tanks shown in FIG. 16 using a silicon refining apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention.

Fig. 17 (a) is a view showing a cross-section of a connecting bath part according to Fig. 16 (a). Fig. As shown in Fig. 17 (a), it can be seen that the amount of silicon melt is reduced in accordance with the direction in which it is conveyed.

Fig. 17 (b) is a view showing a cross section of the connecting bath part according to Fig. 16 (b). Fig. As shown in Fig. 17 (b), it can be seen that the amount of silicon melt is relatively uniform in accordance with the direction in which it is conveyed.

Fig. 18 is an experimental result table quantitatively showing the thickness of the silicon melt held in the two kinds of connecting bath portions shown in Fig. 16. Fig.

18, the average value of the thickness of the silicon melt held in the connecting portion 500b according to one aspect of the present invention is the largest, It can be seen that the thickness of the silicon melt covering the bottom portion of the connecting bath portion 500b is the most uniform along the direction in which the silicon melt portion 300 is fed to the one-way solidifying portion 400. [

15B according to one aspect of the present invention allows a certain amount of silicon melt to be held on the connecting bath part 500b, It is possible to prevent the silicon melt portion and the unidirectional solidified portion from being directly scratched and prevented from being damaged.

That is, the structure of the interconnecting bath part 500b shown in FIG. 16 (b) can improve the durability of the refining device to refine the silicon continuously to produce an ingot of polysilicon.

FIG. 19 is a view showing a connecting bath according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

The connecting tuyere 500c shown in FIG. 19 is arranged such that the slope of the lower surface of the lower surface of the molten silicon 300 is shifted in the horizontal direction with respect to the direction in which the silicon melt is transferred from the silicon melting unit 300 to the unidirectional solidification unit 400 It can have an increasing shape.

Accordingly, when the molten silicon is transferred from the silicon melting unit 300 to the unidirectional solidifying unit 400, the silicon melt can be held in the connecting molten silicon unit 500c shown in FIG.

The connecting bath part 500c according to another embodiment of the present invention allows a certain amount of silicon melt to be held on the connecting bath part 500c so that the electron beam is directly injected into the connecting bath part 500c It is possible to prevent the silicon melting portion and the upper end portion of the unidirectional solidified portion from being broken.

Meanwhile, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the lower surface of the lower portion of the connecting bath may have a shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases in the direction in which the silicon melt is conveyed and the inclination of one surface of the lower surface increases.

Accordingly, even if the amount of the molten silicon is small, the molten silicon can be held in the connecting bath, and the additional molten glass can be prevented from being damaged by the connecting bath.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a connecting bath according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 20, unlike the embodiment of the present invention, the lower surface of the connecting portion 530 applied to the silicon refining apparatus may have a curved surface portion 560 having a constant curvature.

Accordingly, the silicon melt can be prevented from being smoothly supplied to the unidirectional solidification portion 400 from the silicon melting portion 300 due to the surface tension of the silicon melt.

FIG. 21 is a view showing the arrangement of the raw material supply portion and the connecting hot runner in FIG. 1; FIG.

Referring to FIG. 21, the arrangement of the raw material supplying unit and the connecting hot runner applied to the refining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The silicon raw material is supplied to the silicon melting portion 300 in the raw material supplying portion 120. The silicon raw material supplied to the silicon melting unit 300 is melted by the first electron gun 210 shown in FIG. 1 to form a silicon melt.

The non-metallic impurities existing in the silicon melt also melts and reaches a volatile state. The volatile impurities have a higher vapor pressure than silicon and can be removed through vacuum refining.

The central axis of the connecting bath part 500 may be located at a different position from the center axis of the inlet 124 of the raw material supplying part.

The molten silicon can be moved through various movement paths in the silicon melting portion 300. However, if the central axis of the connecting bath part 500 is the same as the center axis of the inlet 124 of the raw material supplying part, the silicon melt can move in a straight path. I can not.

The first imaginary line L1 in which the center axis of the connecting bath part 500 extends can be substantially parallel to the second imaginary line L2 in which the center axis of the inlet 124 of the raw material supply part extends .

The first imaginary line L1 and the second imaginary line L2 may be spaced apart from each other in the first silicon melt 300.

That is, the first imaginary line L1 in which the central axis of the connecting bath part 500 extends is substantially parallel to the second imaginary line L2 in which the central axis of the inlet 124 of the raw material supply part extends, The first imaginary line L1 and the second imaginary line L2 are separated from each other by the connection trough portion 500 and the inlet 124 of the raw material supply portion May be disposed.

The arrangement of the connecting bath part 500 and the inlet 124 of the raw material supplying part can increase the length of the path of movement of the silicon melt in the silicon melting part 300 and the volatile impurities existing in the silicon melt It is possible to secure a time and space that can be vacuum-refined, thereby improving the refining efficiency of silicon.

22 is a view showing an arrangement of a raw material supply portion and a connecting bath portion applied to a silicon refining apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention.

The silicon melting portion 300 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape. However, the shape is not limited to the rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a shape capable of storing the silicon melt can be applied.

The first imaginary line L1 in which the center axis of the connecting trough portion is extended can be substantially perpendicular to the second imaginary line L2 in which the center axis of the inlet 124 of the raw material supply portion extends.

That is, the first imaginary line L1, in which the center axis of the connecting bath is extended, is connected to the connecting bath 130 so that the central axis of the inlet 124 of the raw material supplying unit is substantially perpendicular to the second imaginary line L2, A portion 501 and an inlet 124 of the raw material supply portion may be disposed.

The arrangement of the connection pipe portion 501 and the inlet 124 of the raw material supply portion can increase the length of the path of movement of the silicon melt in the silicon melt portion 300 and the volatile impurities existing in the silicon melt It is possible to secure a time and space that can be vacuum-refined, thereby improving the refining efficiency of silicon.

FIG. 23 is a view showing an arrangement of a raw material supply part and a connecting bath part applied to a silicon refining apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention. FIG.

The first channel part 301 may be located at a corner of the silicon melting part 300.

The inlet 124 of the raw material supply part is melted at a position where the silicon raw material is supplied to the silicon melt part 300 and the silicon melted part 300 As shown in FIG.

The inlet 124 of the raw material supply unit is disposed above the silicon melt unit 300 such that a straight line L3 connecting the first channel unit 301 and the inlet 124 of the raw material supply unit is maximized. .

Therefore, the inlet 124 of the raw material supply part and the first channel part 301 may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the silicon melting part 300 at the maximum.

The inlet 124 of the raw material supply portion is disposed above the silicon melt portion 300 so that the straight line L3 has the maximum length so that the time when the silicon melt can exist in the silicon melt portion 300 And the space can be secured, so that the refining efficiency of the silicon can be improved.

Further, the polysilicon ingot can be continuously produced using the silicon refining apparatus according to the present embodiment, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

24 is a view schematically showing the arrangement of the raw material supply portion, the first connecting bath portion and the second connecting bath portion and the movement path of the silicon melt applied to the silicon refining apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 24, the arrangement of the raw material supplying unit, the first connecting bathtub unit and the second connecting bathtub unit according to still another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 will be described in more detail.

The third channel portion 322 may be located at an edge portion of the second silicon melt portion 320.

The first connection pipe portion 510 may be disposed such that the path of movement of the silicon melt to the second connection pipe portion 520 is maximized.

The second channel portion 321 is formed on the upper portion of the second silicon melt portion 320 so that a straight line L3 connecting the second channel portion 321 and the third channel portion 322 is maximized. .

The arrangement of the first and second connection trough sections 520 and 520 may be such that the path of movement of the silicon melt within the second silicon melt section 200 may be longer, It is possible to secure the time and space for the vacuum refining of the volatile impurities present in the silicon wafer, thereby improving the silicon refining efficiency.

The first channel part 311 may be located at an edge of the first silicon melting part 300.

The inlet 124 of the raw material supply part may be arranged such that the path of melting the silicon raw material to the first silicon melting part 310 and moving to the first connecting molten part 510 is maximized have.

The inlet 124 of the raw material supply portion is disposed above the first silicon melt portion 310 such that a straight line L4 connecting the first channel portion 311 and the inlet 124 of the raw material supply portion is maximized .

As described above, according to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a silicon refining apparatus for producing a polysilicon ingot, comprising a plurality of silicon melting units and a plurality of silicon melting units, It can be seen that the traveling path of the first silicon melt 310 and the second silicon melt 320 is maximized as shown by the arrows.

By arranging the raw material supply part 120, the first connection hot runout part 510 and the second connection hot runout part 520, it is possible to secure a sufficient time and space for removing volatile impurities in the silicon melt The silicon refining effect can be improved.

Further, unlike the conventional method in which a polysilicon ingot is produced one time by batch method, a polysilicon ingot can be continuously manufactured using the silicon refining apparatus according to the present embodiment, and manufacturing cost can be reduced .

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims, It is obvious.

100: Vacuum chamber
200: electron gun
300: silicon melting portion
310: first silicon melting section
320: second silicon melt portion
400; Unidirectional solidifying portion
500: Connection boiler
510: the first connecting bath part
520: second connecting bath section

Claims (23)

A vacuum chamber for maintaining a vacuum atmosphere;
At least one electron gun provided in the vacuum chamber to irradiate an electron beam;
A raw material supply unit for supplying the silicon raw material into the vacuum chamber;
A silicon melt disposed in the region irradiated with the electron beam, the silicon melt being charged with the silicon raw material and melting the silicon raw material by the electron beam to form a silicon melt;
A unidirectional solidifying portion for solidifying the silicon melt supplied from the silicon melting portion; And
Wherein the first channel portion of the silicon melt portion and the second channel portion of the unidirectional solidification portion are in contact with each other,
Wherein a first imaginary line in which a central axis of the connecting bath part extends is parallel to a second imaginary line in which a central axis of the inlet of the raw material supply part extends. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first imaginary line and the second imaginary line are spaced apart at a maximum in the first silicon fused portion. delete delete The method according to claim 1,
And a pair of side portions extending in the vertical direction at both ends of the lower surface portion and the lower surface portion of the lower surface portion according to a direction in which the silicon melt is conveyed, . A silicon melting portion having a first channel portion at one end;
A unidirectional solidification portion having a second channel portion which is in contact with the first channel portion and forms a connection portion; And
And a raw material supply portion for transferring the silicon raw material to the silicon melting portion,
Wherein the first imaginary line extending from the central axis of the connecting bath portion is perpendicular to the second imaginary line extending from the central axis of the raw material supply portion. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the silicon molten portion has a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
Wherein a vertical point between the first imaginary line and the second imaginary line is maximally adjacent to an edge portion of the silicon melting portion Wherein the silicon scouring apparatus is a silicon scouring apparatus. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the inlet of the raw material supply unit is disposed above the silicon melt unit such that a straight line connecting the first channel unit and the inlet of the raw material supply unit is maximized. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein a width of the channel formed by the first channel portion and the second channel portion is narrowed in accordance with a direction in which the silicon melt is transported. 8. The method of claim 7,
The silicon melt or the unidirectional solidification portion
Characterized in that it has a copper material. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the silicon molten portion is disposed on the outer side and includes a flow path portion through which the fluid flows,
The flow-
A first flow path portion including a plurality of flow paths formed by a plurality of slits;
And a second flow path portion extending to the first flow path portion and connected to each other to form one flow path. delete A first silicon melting portion in which the silicon melt is stored;
Wherein the first silicon fused portion has a first channel portion and a second silicon fused portion having a second channel portion contacting the first channel portion to form a first connection trough portion; And
Wherein the second silicon fused portion has a third channel portion and has a fourth channel portion contacting the third channel portion to form a second connection trough portion;
Wherein an extension line extending from the central axis of the first connection trough section is parallel or perpendicular to an extension line extending from the central axis of the second connection trough section Silicon refining apparatus. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the second silicon fused portion has a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
And the third channel portion is located at an edge portion of the second silicon melt portion. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the second channel portion is disposed above the second silicon melt portion such that a straight line connecting the second channel portion and the third channel portion is the largest. 15. The method of claim 14,
And a raw material supply portion for transferring the silicon raw material to the silicon melting portion,
Wherein the inlet of the raw material supply portion is disposed such that the path for melting the silicon raw material to the first silicon fused portion and moving to the first connection trench is maximized. 18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein the first silicon fused portion has a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
Wherein the first channel portion is located at an edge portion of the first silicon fused portion. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein the inlet of the raw material supply unit is disposed above the silicon melt unit such that a straight line connecting the first channel unit and the inlet of the raw material supply unit is maximized. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein a width of a channel formed by the first channel portion and the second channel portion or a channel formed by the third channel portion and the fourth channel portion of the one- Is narrowed in accordance with the direction in which the silicon is fed. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the silicon molten portion includes respective flow paths disposed on the outer side,
And the adjacent flow path portions are spatially connected to each other through the inside of the silicon melted portion. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the silicon molten portion has a plurality of flow paths disposed on the outer side,
Wherein a flow path width of at least one of the plurality of flow path portions is larger than a flow path width of the remaining flow path portions. delete

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