This paper concerns the precipitation mechanism of SiNx impurities in multi-crystalline silicon grown with a directional solidification system. A butterfly-shaped precipitate region was found across the middle part of ingot. These precipitates showed filament-like and fiber-like shapes of several micrometers in diameter and up to several millimeters in length. These two types of precipitates exist in different areas, forming three distribution zones in the butterfly region. The precipitate growth periodically stopped at the last stage of the butterfly formation. A non-uniform convection flow model was proposed to explain the precipitation behavior at the butterfly. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.