The impact on mc-Si ingot grown in a directional solidification furnace by partially replacing the susceptor bottom with an insulation material: A numerical investigation

Directional solidification (DS) is the major process for growing the multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) ingots with low cost and low power consumption. Here, the investigation of mc-Si growth has been carried out by two-dimensional numerical simulations on the simplified axisymmetric DS furnace. The mc-Si ingots were grown in the DS furnace with conventional susceptor and a furnace with partially replaced susceptor bottom. The susceptor bottom of size 278 mm x 42 mm x 20 mm is partially replaced with an insulation material. The temperature distribution and melt-crystal interface shape of the grown ingots were analysed at 25%, 50% and 75% of the solidification fraction. The von Mises stress and max shear stress were investigated on both the ingots at the end of the DS-Si process. The better quality mc-Si ingot with low power consumption has been attained by the partial replacement of susceptor bottom with insulation block.

Automated summary

Numerical simulations were used to investigate the growth of multicrystalline silicon. By partially replacing the bottom of the susceptor with an insulation block, a better quality and lower power consumption multicrystalline silicon ingot was obtained.