Design and Process Changes for a 
Solar Grade Polysilicon Plant

Jan Maurits,
VP Operations, Poly Plant Project Inc., USA

Mr. Jan Maurits is Vice President of Operations, for Poly Plant Project, Inc. The consulting company assists companies in the planning, design, and operation of trichlorosilane-based polysilicon plants for production of solar grade polysilicon. Maurits has 45 years of experience in electronic materials, with the last 25 years in polysilicon production plants. He has held management positions in Research and Development, Quality Assurance, Analytical Services, Technical Services, and New Product Development.

As a consultant, Maurits has been a Technical Advisor for a European research facility, accomplished several product development and sales development projects in electronic materials, performed due diligence technical and market assistance for two company acquisitions, and has been an expert witness in patent litigations.

He holds a B.A. in chemistry, with postgraduate courses in metallurgy, microelectronics, III-V materials, semiconductor devices, statistics, marketing, financial analysis, and management.

With one exception, the current suppliers of polysilicon all use modifications of the Siemens process patented in the 1950s. Over the years, these suppliers have made many improvements in conversion rates, purity, throughput, and efficiency. These improvements were developed to meet the continued requirements of the electronics industry for higher purity polysilicon.

The design efforts over the past four years have been to modify the plant design to produce larger volumes of solar grade polysilicon at a reduced cost. This presentation discusses those changes in plant design and processes.

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