What is silicon mixed with to make computer chips?

Answer 1

The physical process is basically melting it and then solidifying it and the last parts of the mass to solidify contain most of the impurities.

The chemical process is when you convert it to a silicon compound then you distil it then convert it back to pure silicon.

The zinc process includes reacting silicon tetrachloride with high-purity zinc vapours at 950 °C, producing silicon ( I've added the formula)SiCl4 + 2 Zn → Si + 2 ZnCl2 However, this technique was plagued with practical problems and was eventually abandoned in favour of the Siemens process.

In the Siemens process, high-purity silicon rods are exposed to Trichlorosilane at 1150 °C. The Trichlorosilane gas decomposes and deposits additional silicon onto the rods, enlarging them:

2 HSiCl3 → Si + 2 HCl + SiCl4

Silicon produced from this and similar processes are called polycrystalline silicon. Polycrystalline silicon typically has impurity levels of less than 10−9

Finally the Schumacher process which is basically the same as theSiemens process but with lower deposition temperatures, lower capital costs to build facilities and operate, no hazardous polymers nor explosive material, and no waste amorphous silicon dust waste.

Answer 2

Nothing... The Silicon wafer that makes up the heart of microchips is pure. The circuitry of the chip is constructed of microscopic metal threads, which are embedded onto the surface of the silicon.