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Silicon metal manufacturers take you to understand the relevant knowledge of metal silicon in detail
2023-06-22

Silicon metal manufacturers take you to understand the relevant knowledge of metal silicon in detail


What is metal silicon?

Metal silicon, also known as crystalline silicon or industrial silicon, is mainly used as an additive for non-ferrous alloys. Silicon metal is a product produced by smelting quartz and coke in an electric furnace. The main component of silicon is about 98% (in recent years, 99.99% of Si is also contained in metal silicon). The remaining impurities are iron and aluminum. , calcium, etc.



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Silicon metal uses:

Silicon is used in large quantities to smelt into ferrosilicon alloys, as an alloying element in the iron and steel industry, and as a reducing agent in the smelting of many metals. Silicon is also a good ingredient in aluminum alloys, and most cast aluminum alloys contain silicon. Silicon is the raw material for ultrapure silicon in the electronics industry. Electronic devices made of ultra-pure semiconductor single crystal silicon have the advantages of small size, light weight, good reliability and long life.


Why is the current era called the Silicon Age?

At the 7th International Conference on Crystalline Silicon Production, scientists called the current era the silicon era. Why is silicon mentioned so high? This is because today's world is moving from the industrial age to the information age. In the industrial age, steel was the leader, and the amount of steel output marked a country's economic and military strength. In the information age, the semiconductor material - silicon is the leader. There are many types of semiconductor materials that can be used, but there are not many types of industrial production, mainly silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide and gallium phosphide, of which silicon accounts for about 90% of the total output of semiconductor materials. That's why people call the current era the silicon era.



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Metal silicon classification

The classification of metal silicon is usually classified according to the content of three main impurities, iron, aluminum and calcium contained in the metal silicon composition. According to the content of iron, aluminum and calcium in metal silicon, metal silicon can be divided into different grades such as 553, 441, 411, 421, 3303, 3305, 2202, 2502, 1501, 1101 and so on.


Industrially, metallic silicon is usually made by reducing silica with carbon in an electric furnace. Chemical reaction equation: SiO2+2C→Si+2CO The purity of silicon obtained in this way is 97~98%, which is called metal silicon. It is melted and recrystallized, and impurities are removed with acid to obtain metallic silicon with a purity of 99.7-99.8%.