Cold filament ignition system and method of silicon rods

1. A method of igniting one or more filaments for silicon production, comprising:

applying an output voltage to the one or more filaments using a transformer connected with the one or more filaments;

supplying, in combination with the application of the output voltage, a current to a primary winding of the transformer via a choke to limit the current to a first predetermined current threshold range,

wherein the combination of the supplied current and applied output voltage allows a predetermined output range to be generated from a power supply device initially required to ignite the one or more filaments;

reversing a polarity of either a first transformer or a second transformer when a first filament and a second filament have reached the first predetermined current threshold;

applying the output voltage to a third filament using a third transformer connected in parallel with the first transformer and the second transformer, while still applying the output voltage to the first filament or the second filament;

bypassing the choke of each transformer until a second predetermined current threshold range is reached to ignite the filaments; and

in response to reaching the second predetermined current threshold range, limiting the current to that second predetermined current threshold range via anyone of the first transformer, second transformer, or third transformer.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

applying the output voltage to each of the one or more filaments.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the output voltage is applied to each of the one or more filaments via an input voltage to the primary winding based on a turns ratio.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the input voltage ranges from about 200 V to 700 V and the output voltage ranges from about 6,000 V to 10,000 V.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first predetermined current threshold range is about 4 A to 8 A.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transformer is a single phase transformer and the choke is an inductor.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more filaments has a hairpin shape.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

reversing the polarity of either the first transformer or the second transformer when the first filament and the second filament have reached the second predetermined current threshold range.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second predetermined current threshold range is about 25 A to 50 A.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the second predetermined current threshold is about 25 A to 30 A.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

applying the output voltage to a fourth filament, a fifth filament, and a sixth filament using a plurality of switches in parallel to the filaments to allow all six filaments to be ignited using the first transformer, the second transformer, and the third transformer.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the voltage across a circuit is about 0 V and each end of the circuit is grounded.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transformer is connected in series with the one or more filaments.

14. A method for producing silicon, comprising:

placing one or more filaments in a production device;

applying an output voltage to the one or more filaments using a transformer connected with the one or more filaments;

supplying, in combination with the application of the output voltage, a current to a primary winding of the transformer via a choke to limit the current to a first predetermined current threshold range,

wherein the combination of the supplied current and applied output voltage allows a predetermined output range to be generated from a power supply device initially required to ignite the one or more filaments;

reversing a polarity of either a first transformer or a second transformer when a first filament and a second filament have reached the first predetermined current threshold range;

applying the output voltage to a third filament using a third transformer connected in parallel with the first transformer and the second transformer, while still applying the output voltage to the first filament or the second filament;

bypassing the choke until a second predetermined current threshold range is reached to ignite the filaments;

in response to reaching the second predetermined current threshold range, limiting the current to that second predetermined current threshold range via anyone of the first transformer, second transformer, or third transformer; and

producing silicon.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

applying the output voltage to each of the one or more filaments.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the output voltage is applied to each of the one or more filaments via an input voltage to the primary winding based on a turns ratio.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the input voltage ranges from about 200 V to 700 V and the output voltage ranges from about 6,000 V to 10,000 V.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first predetermined current threshold range is about 4 A to 8 A.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the transformer is a single phase transformer and the choke is an inductor.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein each of the one or more filaments has a hairpin shape.

21. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

reversing the polarity of either the first transformer or the second transformer when the first filament and the second filament have reached the second predetermined current threshold range.

22. The method of claim 14 , wherein the second predetermined current threshold range is about 25 A to 50 A.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the second predetermined current threshold range is about 25 A to 30 A.

24. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

applying a voltage to a fourth filament, a fifth filament, and a sixth filament using a plurality of switches to ignite all six filaments using the first transformer, the second transformer, and the third transformer.

25. The method of claim 14 , wherein the voltage across a circuit is about 0 V and each end of the circuit is grounded.

26. The method of claim 14 , wherein the transformer is connected in series with the filaments.