GC: n

CT: Polycrystalline silicon is manufactured by first reacting metallurgical silicon with hydrogen and silicon tetrachloride to produce trichlorosilane. This is then reacted with hydrogen in a reactor so that the polycrystalline silicon is deposited in the form of rods.

S: http://www.osaka-ti.co.jp/e/e_product/silicon/ (last access: 29 December 2014)

N: 1. From poly- (word-forming element meaning “many, much, multi-, one or more,” from Greek poly-, combining form of polys “much” (plural polloi); cognate with Latin plus, from PIE root pele- “to fill,” with derivatives referring to multitudinousness or abundance) and crystalline (adjective, late 14c., from Old French cristalin “like crystal” (Modern French crystallin), from Latin crystallinus, from Greek krystallinos “of crystal,” from krystallos).
silicon (n). nonmetallic element, 1817, coined by British chemist Thomas Thomson from silica (silicon dioxide), from which it was isolated. The name is patterned on carbon, etc. Silicon chip first attested 1965; Silicon Valley for the Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco, U.S.A., first attested 1974, from the concentration of manufacturers of silicon chips used in computers, watches, etc.
2. A polycrystalline material is a semiconductor material, deposited by vacuum evaporation or another suitable method, consisting of a multitude of tiny crystals with random orientation, used as the active region of thin-film transistors.
3. Silicon which has solidified at such a rate that many small crystals (crystallites) were formed.
4. A polycrystalline material is a semiconductor material, deposited by vacuum evaporation or another suitable method, consisting of a multitude of tiny crystals with random orientation, used as the active region of thin-film transistors.
5. The typical monocrystalline solar cell is a dark black colour, and the corners of cells are usually missing as a result of the production process and the physical nature of monocrystalline silicon. Polycrystalline, on the other hand, is identifieable by its signature light or dark blue colour, but not uniformly so: some patches are lighter than others. The differences in appearance come about as a result of the manufacturing process.

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=poly-&allowed_in_frame=0; http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=crystalline&searchmode=none; http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=silicon&searchmode=none (last access: 29 December 2014). 2. GDT (last access: 29 December 2014). 3 & 4. TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 29 December 2014). 5. http://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/monocrystalline-vs-polycrystalline-solar-panels-busting-myths/ (last access: 29 December 2014).

SYN:
S:

CR: amorphous silicon, photovoltaic module, silicon, solar energy.