An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of shaping, such as cold/hot working, cutting, or milling to produce a useful final product. Non-metallic and semiconductor materials prepared in bulk form may also be referred to as ingots, particularly when cast by mold based methods. Precious metal ingots can be used as currency (with or without being processed into other shapes), or as a currency reserve, as with gold bars.
Ingots are generally made of metal, either pure or alloy, heated past its melting point and cast into a bar or block using a mold chill method.
A special case are polycrystalline or single crystal ingots made by pulling from a molten melt.
Boule (crystal)
Single crystal ingots (called boules) of materials are grown (crystal growth) using methods such as the Czochralski process or Bridgeman technique.
The boules may be either semiconductor (e.g. electronic chip wafers, photovoltaic cells) or non-conducting inorganic compounds for industrial and jewelry use (e.g., synthetic ruby, sapphire).
Single crystal ingots of metal are produced in similar fashion to that used to produce high purity semiconductor ingots, i.e. by vacuum induction refining. Single crystal ingots of engineering metals are of interest due to their very high strength due to lack of grain boundaries. The method of production is via single crystal dendrite and not via simple casting. Possible uses include turbine blades.
In the United States, the brass and bronze ingot making industry started in the early 19th century. The US brass industry grew to be the number one producer by the 1850s. During colonial times the brass and bronze industries were almost non-existent because the British demanded all copper ore be sent to Britain for processing. Copper based alloy ingots weighed approximately .
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A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical phenomenon. It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance, vary when exposed to light. Individual solar cell devices are often the electrical building blocks of photovoltaic modules, known colloquially as solar panels.
Polycrystalline silicon, or multicrystalline silicon, also called polysilicon, poly-Si, or mc-Si, is a high purity, polycrystalline form of silicon, used as a raw material by the solar photovoltaic and electronics industry. Polysilicon is produced from metallurgical grade silicon by a chemical purification process, called the Siemens process. This process involves distillation of volatile silicon compounds, and their decomposition into silicon at high temperatures. An emerging, alternative process of refinement uses a fluidized bed reactor.
An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of shaping, such as cold/hot working, cutting, or milling to produce a useful final product. Non-metallic and semiconductor materials prepared in bulk form may also be referred to as ingots, particularly when cast by mold based methods.
Hands on experience doing synchrotron diffraction experiments (i.e. grazing incidence, powder & single crystal diffraction, total scattering, and in-situ or operando experiments)
Learn to process and
Explores the fundamentals and processes for photovoltaic devices, including impurities in polysilicon, ingot growth methods, wire sawing, and the impact of cracks on wafer strength.
Explores the preparation of silicon material and wafers for photovoltaic applications, covering topics such as the crystalline silicon standard chain and alternative wafering techniques.
Explores silicon and wafer preparation for photovoltaics, focusing on reducing costs and environmental impact through improved efficiency and manufacturing processes.
The formation of feathery grains during semi-continuous casting of Al-alloys [1, 2] is an interesting problem from both practical and theoretical points of view. These structures are formed by a lamel
EPFL2009
The semicontinuous direct chill (DC) casting of large cross-section rolling sheet ingots of high strength aluminium alloys (2xxx and 7xxx series) gives birth to high residual (internal) stresses gener