Process and apparatus for producing silicon

Claim 1

IN APPARATUS FOR CARRYING OUT THE THERMAL REDUCTION OF A HALOGENATED SILANE WITH HYDROGEN IN A CYLINDRICAL REACTOR CHAMBER AND DEPOSITING SILICON SO PRODUCED ON A PAIR OF ELECTRICALLY HEATED FILAMENTS HAVING A LOWER END SUPPORTED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE REACTOR CHAMBER, AND THE UPPER ENDS CONNECTED BY A GRAPHITE BRIDGE SPACED FROM THE UPPER END OF CYLINDRICAL REACTOR CHAMBER A DISTANCE AT LEAST AS GREAT AS THE RADIUS OF THE CHAMBER, IN COMBINATION, THE CYLINDRICAL REACTOR CHAMBER BEING OF SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION AND HAVING AN INSIDE DIAMETER OF FROM 22% TO 33% OF THE LENGTH OF THE FILAMENTS AND THE FILAMENTS BEING AT LEAST 18INCHES IN LENGTH AND SPACED AT LEAST 11/2 INCHES APART AND BEING AT LEAST 1 INCH FROM THE WALLS OF THE REACTOR CHAMBER, A GAS INLET TUBE FOR ADMITTING A MIXTURE OF HYDROGEN AND THE HALOGENATED SILANE INTO THE REACTOR CHAMBER IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE FILAMENTS, THE GAS INLET BEING DISPOSED AT ONE END OF THE CYLINDRICAL REACTOR CHAMBER AND BEING SPACED SYMMETRICALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE FILAMENTS, THE TIP OF THE GAS INLET TUBE BEING BELOW THE BOTTOM OF THE FILAMENTS AND THE LINE FROM THE TIP OF THE GAS INLET TUBE TO THE BOTTOM OF A FILAMENT FORMING AN ANGLE OF BETWEEN 20* AND 30* WITH RESPECT TO THE VERTICAL TO THE FILAMENTS, THE TIP OF THE GAS INLET TUBE HAVING A DIAMETER OF NOT OVER 0.10 INCH, AND A GAS OUTLET FIG 01 TUBE DISPOSED AT THE SAME END OF THE REACTION CHAMBER AS THE GAS INLET TUBE BUT ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE FILAMENTS FROM THE GAS INLET TUBE AND NEAR THE WALL OF THE CYLINDRICAL REACTOR CHAMBER.