(US4759830-A)      Thin coating of elemental Si is deposited on an electrically conductive material by electrolytic deposition from a salt melt contg. (a) silicon halide, (b) Al halide, (c) alkali metal or ammonium halide and (d) transition metal halide. Electrolysis is effected at 100-350 deg.C in an inert atmos., opt. under pressure.    Pref. the salt melt contains (a) SiX4, HnSiX4-n or (Si)mX'2m+2 (where X = Cl, Br or I; X' = Cl, Br or I; n = 1-3; and m = 2-6), (b) AlCl3, AlBr3 or AlI3, (c) Na, K or Li chloride, bromide or iodide and (d) e.g. NiI2, FeI2 or CuI.    USE/ADVANTAGE -   Homogeneous and adherent thin Si coatings as required for photoconductive or photovoltaic devices, e.g. solar cells, are obtd..    (US4773973-A)      Polycrystalline Si coatings are produced on electrically conductive materials, for prodn. of photoconductive or photo-voltaic devices, e.g. solar cells, by electrolytic deposition of the Soi from a salt melt. The melt contains Si halide of the formula SiX4, HnSiX4-n, or SimX'2m+2, where X is Cl, Br, I or mixts. of these, X' is Cl, Br or I, n is 1-3, and m is 2-6; Al trichloride, Al tribromide, or Al tri-iodide; chloride, bromide, or iodide of Na, K or Li. Electrolysis is carried out at 100-350 deg.C in an inert atmos., opt. under pressure. Anode is Al and cathode is Si or graphite.    ADVANTAGE -   Highly pure Si coatings are obtainable, adherent to the substrate.    (EP260223-B)      A process for the production of a thin coating of elemental silicon on an electrically condutive material suitable as an electrode by electrolytic deposition of the silicon from a salt melt, by a procedure in which the salt melt contains (a) a covalent halogen-containing silicon compound of the formula (1) SiX4, (2) HnSiX4-n or (3) SimX'm+2 in which X is chlorine, bromine, iodine or mixtures therof, X' is chlorine, bromine or iodine, n is an integer from 1 to 3 and m is an integer from 2 to 6, (b) an aluminium halide, (c) an alkali metal halide or ammonium halide and, (d) a halide of a transition metal and the electrolysis is carried out at temperatures from 100 to 350 deg. C in an inert atmosphere, optionally under pressure.    (11pp)