Systems and methods for growing polycrystalline silicon ingots

Abstract

Systems and methods for growing polycrystalline silicon ingots are described. The systems and methods involve placing an initial charge of polysilicon in a crucible, using a direct solidification/heat exchanger method furnace to melt the initial charge to form a melt, and then introducing additional polysilicon to the melt while the melt and crucible are within the furnace. The additional polysilicon may be added to the crucible in order to bring the melt to any desired volume, including until the crucible is full or topped off. An augmenting mechanism, such as a hopper, may be used to introduce additional polysilicon to the melt. The hopper may have a silicon introduction controller that controls the introduction of polysilicon into the melt. Other embodiments are described.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.