Definition Of Metallic Silicon

Metal silicon "(also known as industrial silicon in China) is a commodity name that emerged in the mid-1960s. Its emergence is related to the rise of the semiconductor industry. The international practice is to divide commercial silicon into metallic silicon and semiconductor silicon. Metal silicon is a product made by smelting quartz and coke in an electric furnace. The main component silicon element content is about 98% (99.99% Si content is also included in metal silicon), and the other impurities are iron, aluminum, calcium, and so on. Semiconductor silicon is a high-purity metallic silicon used in the production of semiconductor devices. It is sold in the form of polycrystalline or single crystal, with the former being cheap and the latter being expensive. It is divided into multiple specifications due to its different uses. According to statistics, in 1985, the world consumed about 500000 tons of metal silicon, of which about 60% was used for aluminum alloys, less than 30% was used for organic silicon, about 3% was used for semiconductors, and the rest was used for steel smelting and precision ceramics.