METHOD FOR PRODUCING SILICON

摘要

The present invention pertains to the field of silicon production and, more specifically, to the use of the plasma chemical reaction of initial compounds to produce silicon, and can be used, for example, in semi-conductor technology and in the photo-electric industry for manufacturing solar panels. The technical result is that of reducing power consumption and simplifying implementation. The method for producing silicon comprises grinding an initial silicon-containing compound to a highly dispersed state in which the individual particles have a size of less than 1 micron, and injecting the resultant powder together with a carrier gas into the high-temperature stream of plasma-forming gases of a plasmatron connected with a reactor and provided in a chamber in which a vacuum is generated. The method comprises creating the conditions for the evaporation and pulverization of the silicon-containing compound so as to obtain pure silicon atoms and volatile reaction products by adjusting the powder feed rate and the plasmatron power, and the pure silicon is then condensed on the walls and the bed of the reactor while the volatile products are removed by means of the vacuum. The process is carried out at a temperature in the reactor higher than 3000°C, a powder feed rate of 1 to 10 cm3/sec., and a plasmatron power of 700 - 25000 W.