Mechanically fluidized silicon deposition systems and methods

A mechanically fluidized reactor comprising:

• a housing having a chamber therein;
• a pan received in the chamber of the housing for movement therein, the pan having a lower surface, an upper surface, a perimeter, and a perimeter wall that extends upward relative to the upper surface at least partially about the perimeter of the pan;
• wherein the pan includes at least one of;
• a steel alloy, a stainless steel alloy, a nickel alloy, and a graphite alloy;
• and
• wherein the pan includes a layer including at least one of:
• quartz, silicide, and silicon carbide on at least a portion of the upper surface of the pan;
• a transmission including at least one oscillatory transmission member coupled to oscillate the pan to mechanically fluidize a particulate bed carried by the upper surface of the pan;
• at least one bushing having a passage through which the at least one transmission member passes, and which constrains the at least one transmission member to oscillatory axial movement along a single axis;
• and
• a heater thermally conductively coupled to provide heat to the upper surface of the pan to conductively transfer thermal energy to the particulate bed.

A mechanically fluidized reactor comprising:

• a housing having a chamber therein;
• a pan received in the chamber of the housing for movement therein, the pan having a lower surface, an upper surface, a perimeter, and a perimeter wall that extends upward relative to the upper surface at least partially about the perimeter of the pan;
• a transmission including at least one oscillatory transmission member coupled to oscillate the pan to mechanically fluidize a particulate bed carried by the upper surface of the pan;
• at least one bushing having a passage through which the at least one transmission member passes, and which constrains the at least one transmission member to oscillatory axial movement along a single axis;
• a heater thermally conductively coupled to provide heat to the upper surface of the pan to conductively transfer thermal energy to the particulate bed;
• and
• an electrical charge generator electrically coupled to the pan to create an electrostatic charge on the pan, the electrostatic charge sufficient to attract at least a portion of the particles in the mechanically fluidized particulate bed having a diameter less than an arithmetic mean particle diameter of the particles forming the mechanically fluidized particulate bed.

A mechanically fluidized reactor comprising:

• a housing having a chamber therein;
• a pan received in the chamber of the housing for movement therein, the pan having a lower surface, an upper surface, a perimeter, and a perimeter wall that extends upward relative to the upper surface at least partially about the perimeter of the pan;
• a transmission including at least one oscillatory transmission member coupled to oscillate the pan to mechanically fluidize a particulate bed carried by the upper surface of the pan;
• at least one bushing having a passage through which the at least one transmission member passes, and which constrains the at least one transmission member to oscillatory axial movement along a single axis;
• a heater thermally conductively coupled to provide heat to the upper surface of the pan to conductively transfer thermal energy to the particulate bed;
• a flexible membrane that apportions the chamber into an upper portion to which the upper surface of the pan is exposed and a lower portion to which the lower surface of the pan is exposed;
• an inert gas inlet fluidly coupled to the lower portion of the chamber to receive an inert gas into the lower portion of the chamber;
• a particulate inlet fluidly coupled to the upper portion of the chamber to receive and deposit a depth of particles on the upper surface of the pan to form the particulate bed thereupon;
• and
• a gas inlet fluidly coupled to the upper portion of the chamber to receive a gas including at least a first chemical species into the upper portion of the chamber.

A mechanically fluidized reactor, comprising:

• a housing having a chamber therein;
• a pan received in the chamber of the housing for movement therein, the pan having a lower surface, an upper surface, a perimeter, and a perimeter wall that extends upward relative to the upper surface at least partially about the perimeter of the pan;
• a transmission including at least one oscillatory transmission member coupled to oscillate the pan to mechanically fluidize a particulate bed carried by the upper surface of the pan;
• a flexible membrane that apportions the chamber into an upper portion to which the upper surface of the pan is exposed and a lower portion to which the lower surface of the pan is exposed;
• a pressure device responsive to a pressure difference between a pressure in the upper portion of the chamber and a pressure in the lower portion of the chamber;
• an inert gas inlet fluidly coupled to the lower portion of the chamber to receive an inert gas into the lower portion of the chamber;
• a particulate inlet fluidly coupled to the upper portion of the chamber to receive and deposit a depth of particles on the upper surface of the pan to form the particulate bed thereupon;
• a gas inlet fluidly coupled to the upper portion of the chamber to receive a gas including at least a first chemical species into the upper portion of the chamber;
• and
• a heater thermally conductively coupled to the pan to conductively transfer thermal energy to the mechanically fluidized particulate bed.

A method of operating a mechanically fluidized reactor, the method comprising:

• physically displacing a pan having a lower surface, an upper surface, a perimeter, and a perimeter wall that extends upward relative to the upper surface at least partially about the perimeter of the pan via a transmission including at least one transmission member operably coupled to the pan, an actuator to physically displace the open top pan along an oscillatory motion path defined by a bidirectional motion along a single axis normal to at least a portion of the upper surface of the pan;
• adding particles to the pan to provide a mechanically fluidized particulate bed including a plurality of particles in contact with the upper surface of the pan;
• heating the mechanically fluidized particulate bed to a temperature of greater than 400° C.;
• receiving a gas including a first chemical species in an upper portion of a chamber apportioned by a flexible membrane into the upper portion to which the upper surface of the pan is exposed and a lower portion to which the lower surface of the pan is exposed, wherein the gas received into the upper portion of the chamber is maintained at a temperature of less than about 600° C.;
• circulating the gas within the upper portion of the chamber and through at least a portion of the mechanically fluidized particulate bed using at least one gas circulating device;
• thermally decomposing at least a portion of the first chemical species to form a second chemical species within the heated, mechanically fluidized particulate bed;
• and
• depositing the second chemical species on an exterior surface of at least a portion of the particles forming the mechanically fluidized particulate bed, wherein the deposition of the second chemical species increases a diameter of the respective portion of the particles forming the mechanically fluidized particulate bed.