Effects of melting parameters and quartz purity on silica glass crucible produced by arc method

Abstract In photovoltaic industry, silica crucible has an important influence on the quality of single crystal silicon. To obtain a silica glass crucible with large diameter, high uniformity, and low bubble content, two series of crucibles were prepared by the arc melting method, one with various melting parameters (initial power, melting power, and melting time) and crucible sizes, and the other with various quartz purities. The bubbles inside the crucible wall and pores on the inner surface were all measured using a polarised optical microscope and a portable microscope. The results show that all crucibles have a bubble aggregation area in their inner surface (0–0.4 mm), in which the density and size of bubbles are affected by melting time, melting power, and the distance between the crucible and the graphite electrode. The uniformity of the crucible decreases as the crucible diameter increases (16–28 inches), and the crucible is relatively stable when the initial power is below 400 kW. In final, a silica crucible with large size (diameter of 28 inches) and low bubble content on inner surface (∼50% reduction than that of traditional crucibles) was successfully prepared, which is of great value to the photovoltaic industry.