Patent ID: 7959707

Claim:
A method for producing a purified semiconductor or metallic material, said method comprising: (a) admixing a particulate composition of a semiconductor or metallic material with a metal halide to produce a material-metal halide admixture, where the particulate composition has a first density; (b) heating the admixture to a temperature above a melting point of the semiconductor or metallic material in a container that is chemically and physically stable at said temperature; (c) allowing the admixture to segregate into a molten layer of the semiconductor or metallic material and a molten layer of the metal halide; (d) cooling the admixture such that the molten layer of the semiconductor or metallic material and the molten layer of the metal halide both solidify; and (e) separating the metal halide from the semiconductor or metallic material subsequent to the cooling, where the purified semiconductor or metallic material is produced having a second density that is greater than the first density.