Partitioning Effects in Recrystallization of Silicon from Silicon-Metal Solutions

The objective of this work is to investigate various silicon-metal eutectic systems that selectively retain detrimental impurities, such as Ni, Co, Fe, Cr, in the melt so that silicon may be purified. We studied possible interactions in the melt and in the silicon crystal between impurity elements and solvent metals that lead to reduced or enhanced impurity partition relative to the respective silicon-impurity binary systems. Systems such as Al- Si, Cu-Si, and In-Si show promises of reduced impurity incorporations in recrystallized silicon, which are good candidates for further investigation besides Ga-Si, Au-Si, and Ag-Si.