Applications of Silicon

As the second most abundant element in the earth's crust, silicon is vital to the construction industry as a principal constituent of natural stone, glass, concrete and cement. The greatest impact of silicon on the modern world's economy and lifestyle has resulted from silicon wafers used as substrates in the manufacture of discrete electronic devices such as power transistors, and in the development of integrated circuits such as computer chips.

· Alloys

The largest application of metallurgical grade silicon, representing about 55% of the world consumption, is in the manufacture of aluminium-silicon alloys to produce cast parts, mainly for the automotive industry. Silicon is an important constituent of electrical steel, modifying its resistivity and ferromagnetic properties. Silicon is added to molten cast iron as ferrosilicon or silicocalcium alloys to improve its performance in casting thin sections, and to prevent the formation of cementite at the surface.

· Electronics

Pure silicon is used to produce ultra-pure silicon wafers used in the semiconductor industry, in electronics and in photovoltaic applications. Ultra-pure silicon can be doped with other elements to adjust its electrical response by controlling the number and charge (positive or negative) of current carriers. Such control is necessary for transistors, solar cells, integrated circuits, microprocessors, semiconductor detectors and other semiconductor devices which are used in electronics and other high-tech applications. In silicon photonics, it can be used as a continuous wave Raman laser medium to produce coherent light, though it is ineffective as a light source. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon is used in the production of low-cost, large-area electronics in applications such as LCDs, and of large-area, low-cost thin-film solar cells.

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