Numerical Simulation of Phosphorus Removal from Silicon by Induction Vacuum Refining

Natural Science Foundation of Fujian, Province of China [2007J0012]; Key Technological Program of Fujian, Province of China [2007HZ0005-2]; Norwegian Research CouncilPhosphorus can be expected to evaporate preferentially from silicon melt by induction vacuum refining (IVR). In the present study, on the assumption of phosphorus evaporating from silicon melt as gas species P and P (2), a numerical model of phosphorus removal from silicon by IVR was developed. The factors affecting phosphorus removal in decreasing order are temperature, chamber pressure, geometry of silicon melt, holding time, and original phosphorus concentration. Calculated phosphorus removal shows good agreement with the present experimental data

Magnetoresistive sensor development roadmap (non-recording applications)

Magnetoresistive (MR) sensors have been identified as promising candidates for the development of high-performance magnetometers due to their high sensitivity, low cost, low power consumption, and small size. The rapid advance of MR sensor technology has opened up a variety of MR sensor applications. These applications are in different areas that require MR sensors with different properties. Future MR sensor development in each of these areas requires an overview and a strategic guide. An MR sensor roadmap (non-recording applications) was therefore developed and made public by the Technical Committee of the IEEE Magnetics Society with the aim to provide an research and development (R&D) guide for MR sensors intended to be used by industry, government, and academia. The roadmap was developed over a three-year period and coordinated by an international effort of 22 taskforce members from ten countries and 17 organizations, including universities, research institutes, and sensor companies. In this paper, the current status of MR sensors for non-recording applications was identified by analyzing the patent and publication statistics. As a result, timescales for MR sensor development were established and critical milestones for sensor parameters were extracted in order to gain insight into potential MR sensor applications (non-recording). Five application areas were identified, and five MR sensor roadmaps were established. These include biomedical applications, flexible electronics, position sensing and human-computer interactions, non-destructive evaluation and monitoring, and navigation and transportation. Each roadmap was analyzed using a logistic growth model, and new opportunities were predicted based on the extrapolated curve, forecast milestones, and professional judgment of the taskforce members. This paper provides a framework for MR sensor technology (non-recording applications) to be used for public and private R&D planning, in order to provide guidance into likely MR sensor applications, products, and services expected in the next 15 years and beyond.This work was supported in part by the Seed Funding Program for Basic Research, in part by the Seed Funding Program for Applied Research and Small Project Funding Program from the University of Hong Kong, and in part by ITF Tier 3 funding under Grant ITS/203/14, Grant ITS/104/13, and Grant ITS/214/14), in part by RGC-GRF under Grant HKU 17210014 and Grant HKU 17204617, and in part by the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong under Contract AoE/P-04/08