Major breakthrough in physical method polycrystalline silicon technology?

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Major breakthrough in physical method for polycrystalline silicon production http://www.sina.com.cn June 19, 2010, 05:03 Dahe Net-Henan Daily Report by our correspondent (Reporter Que Aimin): The full-process technology for producing solar-grade polycrystalline silicon using physical methods, developed jointly by Nanyang Xuntianyu Silicon Products Co., Ltd. and the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has successfully passed the expert evaluation conducted by the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On June 18, the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Nanyang City announced this news in Shanghai. 　　Chu Junhao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said at the press conference that this technology fills the gap in international literature regarding industrial polysilicon technologies specifically designed for the photovoltaic industry. It indicates that China has surpassed developed countries by making significant breakthroughs in new technologies for producing low-cost, energy-saving solar-grade polysilicon. 　　Physical method polycrystalline silicon technology is a new polycrystalline silicon production method that was developed through more than five years of laboratory research, pilot-scale tests, and industrial trials. It builds on over 20 years of research on silicon materials by Dr. Gao Wenxiu, a scholar who returned to China, and was created as a joint research project between Nanyang Xuntianyu Company and the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Scientists of all ages – senior researchers, middle-aged experts, and young professionals – worked together; after tens of thousands of experiments of various types, this new technology was finally developed. 　　On June 14, an appraisal committee composed of experts from Nanyang University, Zhejiang University, the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other institutions concluded that this project was the first to adopt a quasi-continuous liquid silicon transport purification process, and it developed and implemented an electrophoresis-based method for deep boron removal. This approach is energy-efficient and environmentally friendly; the total energy consumption from silica reduction to the completion of ingot production is **lower than that of chemical methods, and all industrial water is recycled. 　　Industry experts say that once this technology is widely adopted, it will fundamentally resolve the shortage of silicon materials specifically designed for photovoltaic use, a problem that has plagued the photovoltaic industry both domestically and internationally for decades. It will accelerate the adoption of solar photovoltaic power generation and transform the way humans develop and utilize energy.