Abstract: A seed crystal 1 for manufacturing a single crystal incorporating an unconformity portion B formed at a predetermined position apart from a leading end thereof and structured to conduct the heat of melt and interrupt propagation of dislocation caused from thermal stress produced when dipping in the melt has been performed.

Abstract: A holding blade is formed to be separated from a neighboring holding blades. A body of an elastic plate is separated from bodies of neighboring elastic plates. Each elastic plate base is integrally formed and connected with each corresponding elastic plate body. The thickness of the elastic plate gradually decreases from the junction between the elastic plate base and the frame portion toward its top end. The surface of the elastic plate is shaped in a curved manner. The cross-section of the elastic plate body is substantially rectangular in shape with a larger width in the horizontal direction, and terrace portion extends outward from the elastic plate body.

Abstract: A method for efficiently fabricating semiconductor wafers of good planarization without utilizing chemical solutions of high etching rate is disclosed. The method slices a single-crystal ingot into slices of wafers. The edge of each wafer is chamfered. A lapping or grinding step is carried out to planarize the chamfered wafer. Both side surfaces of the wafer are then polished. Next, the wafer surface is mirror polished. Finally, the wafer is cleaned.

Abstract: A suspender for suspending polycrystalline rods steadfastly and easily in a furnace for single-crystal fabrication by the recharge or additionally charged method is disclosed. The suspender includes a plate which is made of molybdenum or SiC-coated graphite and a stick perpendicularly connected to the center of the plate. Both sides of the openings are arms for supporting the polycrystalline rods, thereby suspending the polycrystalline rods vertically in the opening. Means for preventing the polycrystalline rods from slipping out of the suspender are provided at ends of the arms. Therefore, the polycrystalline rods will not slip from the opening even though the plate is inclined. The suspender is suspended in the furnace by a stick. The polycrystalline rods require few tasks to form grooves and install on the suspender, thus decreasing the process time and manufacturing cost.

Abstract: This invention provides a device for manufacturing single crystals provided with an after-cooler that causes an abrupt temperature gradient along the axis of the crystal being lifted. The device according to this invention can further increase the lifting speed of single crystals. The after-cooler (4) is disposed between the single crystal (5) being lifted and the heat-shield plate (1). Both the inner surface facing the single crystal (5) and the outer surface facing the heat-shield plate (1) of the after-cooler have a surface emissivity value larger than 0.6. Furthermore, the after-cooler (4) is made of cooling pipes or cooling jackets, and the surfaces of the after-cooler (4) are treated by oxidizing or nitriding so as to increase their emissivity values.

Abstract: A method of an apparatus for automatically and rapidly feeding raw material into a quartz crucible in manufacture of single-crystal silicon by CZ method. After a draining hose 203 is disposed in a quartz crucible 201, pure water is supplied from a water supply hose 204, and the quartz crucible 201 is conveyed onto a turn table 213 installed under a container 210. At this time, the quartz crucible 201 is rotated, and lump raw material 209 is fed into the quartz crucible 201. Since buoyancy of the pure water is applied to the lump material 209, impacts caused by the falling lump material can be moderated, and therefore, damages to the quartz crucible 201 can be prevented. After feeding raw material is finished, the pure water is discharged through a draining hose 203, and then the draining hose 203 is retracted from the quartz crucible 201. Thereafter, the quartz crucible 201 is conveyed into a microwave oven 211 for drying.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a single crystal clamping device and a single crystal supporting method. The single crystal clamping device does not become inclined and does not vibrate, and the center of the single crystal clamping device is congruous to the center of the growing single crystal.

Abstract: A germanium layer 19 is melted on top of a starting polycrystalline silicon ingot 18, at a temperature below the melting point of pure silicon. Silicon is dissolved at the interface and floats to the top of the germanium melt to form a silicon melt layer 11, from which a crystal 20 can be drawn. The process permits the production of large diameter crystal with low oxygen content and no more than one percent germanium.

Abstract: A method for fabricating an SOI substrate is provided, which has an active substrate formed as a thin film. The method comprises the steps of: using a both-side polishing apparatus to polish both sides of a supporting substrate 1; bonding an active substrate 2 onto the supporting substrate 1. to form a bonded-wafer; removing an unbonded portion formed at the circumference of the bonded-wafer; flat grinding the active substrate 2 to reduce the thickness thereof; etching the active substrate 2 by spin etching; and processing the active substrate to be a thin film by PACE processing.

Abstract: A single crystal pulling apparatus and droppage preventing device constituted so as to enable the mechanical strength required by an arm to be decreased, and to enable arm manufacturing costs to be reduced and the pulling apparatus to be made more compact, and furthermore, to eliminate the need to provide in a separate manner a mechanism for preventing single crystal droppage, and to enhance reliability and durability by not adversely affecting a clean environment during single crystal growth. The arm has a mating member, which mates with the mating portion of a single crystal, and does not allow the single crystal to drop when pulling the single crystal. The arm undergoes an attitude change to a mating position in accordance with moving a circular motion having a circular motion support point as the center of the circular motion.

Abstract: An apparatus for fabricating single-crystal silicon easily controlling a temperature gradient based on the Czochralski (CZ) method, and more particularly preventing as-grown defects created in order to obtain high-quality single-crystal silicon.The above-mentioned apparatus includes a first thermal shield member surrounding the pulling single-crystal silicon and a second thermal shield member inside the first thermal shield member, surrounding the pulling single-crystal silicon. The second thermal shield member is fixed on the first thermal shield member by a support located on the external surface of the second thermal shield member and connected to the first thermal shield member. The surroundings of a solid-liquid interface are extremely cooled by using the first thermal shield member, thereby a stable shape of the single-crystal silicon is formed. The temperature gradient of the temperature region of 1000.degree. C..about.1200.degree. C.

Abstract: The present invention utilizes a weighing detector as well as a weighing diameter-controlling method in a crystal-pulling apparatus using a wire method for measuring the crystal weight in accuracy. A pulling wire 4 and a wire rolling means 20, having a wire rolling drum 21, suspended on a weighing detector 2 in a freely rotating way. Accordingly, in the weighing detector 2, the weights of the pulling wire 4 and the wire rolling means 20 are served to balance the loading weight. In addition, the vertical central line 6 of the weighing detector, the rotating axis of the wire rolling drum 21, the rotating axis of the wire rolling means 20, and the axis of pulling crystals are all consistent. Consequently, the whole gravity center is located on the vertical central line of the weighing detector 2. When pulling the single crystals at the same time as rolling the wire, the gravity center of the wire rolling means is shifted merely depending on the diameter variation at the pulling wire.

Abstract: A sliced wafer 1a is obtained by cutting it off from a semiconductor ingot. The rear and front surfaces of the sliced wafer 1a are flattened by the first double side simultaneous grinding process so as to remove unevenness 12a. The ground rear and front surfaces of the sliced wafer 1a whose unevenness 12a has been removed are subject to the second double side simultaneous grinding process. The flattened back side surface of the sliced wafer 1b is sucked so as to chamfer the outer peripheral portion 1b of the sliced wafer 1b. Then, the surface of the chamfered wafer 1c is etched.

Abstract: In growing silicon single crystals by the CZ method, the cooling rate in the 1150-1080.degree. C. temperature zone (defect-forming temperature range) where the grown-in defects are formed is set at more than 2.0.degree. C./min to manufacture single crystals having an as-grown LSTD density of larger than 3.0.times.10.sup.6 /cm.sup.3 or a FPD density of larger than 6.0.times.10.sup.5 /cm.sup.3. As this single crystal has a small defect size, thus the dissolution rate of the defects increases by the heat treatment in a non-oxidizing atmosphere containing a hydrogen gas, so the effect of the hydrogen heat treatment can extend to the depth more than 3 .mu.m from the wafer surface.

Abstract: To provide a semiconductor wafer lapping method capable of preventing deformation of a press platen caused by repeating lapping and improving deterioration of TTV caused by rotation stop of semiconductor wafers. In a semiconductor wafer lapping method comprising the steps of placing a lapping carrier having holding holes loaded with semiconductor wafers between an upper press platen and a lower press platen which rotate in opposite directions, rotating the lapping carrier, and lapping the semiconductor wafers, the rotation speed of the lapping carrier is abruptly changed to induce rotation of the semiconductor wafers in the holding holes of the lapping carrier.

Abstract: A single crystal pulling method includes the steps of: immersing seed crystal in a melt; growing single crystal around the seed crystal and reducing its diameter to remove dislocation in the single crystal; prior to forming a straight waist product portion of single crystal having a prescribed diameter, forming a straight waist holding portion having a diameter smaller than the prescribed diameter; holding the straight waist holding portion by using a single crystal holding device; and pulling the straight waist product portion while the straight waist holding portion is held. Preferably the step of forming the straight waist holding portion includes a step of varying a pulling speed to make unevenness in the surface thereof.

Abstract: This invention provides a single-crystal manufacturing device which can perform the lifting of single crystals at a high speed, allowing single crystals with uniform qualities along their axes can be obtained.The method for manufacturing single crystals according to this invention are achieved by using a single-crystal manufacturing device provided with a combination of a heat shield plate 1 and an after-cooler 21. The heat shield plate 1, the thickness of the lower portion of which is 2-6 times that of a conventional heat shield plate, surrounds the single crystal 7 being lifted. The after-cooler 21 covers the top surface of the rim 1a of the heat shield plate 1 and encompasses the single crystal 7 being lifted. The amount of cooling water supplied to the after-cooler 21 is slowly increased until the time the single crystal is lifted to a preset length, and then the amount of cooling water is kept constant.

Abstract: The cooling speed of the portion near the rear part of a single-crystal body and passing through the defect-forming temperature zone is kept the same as that of the front portion of the single-crystal body. Namely, the heater is kept in operation while pulling the single crystal silicon subsequent to forming the tail of the single crystal silicon and the cooling speed throughout the whole single-crystal body in the defect-forming temperature zone is kept below 15.degree. C./min (levels A and B). Furthermore, the length of the tail is preset in the process of pulling the single crystal silicon so that the single-crystal body cools down slowly while passing through the defect-forming temperature zone (level C).

Abstract: An air blow apparatus peels wafers off and simultaneously removes grease and grindstone grains by blowing air into gaps formed between semiconductor wafers sliced by a wire saw from a semiconductor ingot. Two injection nozzles 1a, 1b are symmetrically mounted at predetermined positions with respect to the central line c of the semiconductor wafer 10. Air injections 11a, 11b are injected from the outer top of the semiconductor wafer 10. Injection nozzles 1a, 1b are arranged so that they are movable in the longitudinal direction of the semiconductor ingot. Air injections 11a, 11b are set to be blown out at a cone shape of about 30 degrees.

Abstract: The process of manufacturing silicon single crystals by the CZ method is significantly improved by the present apparatus wherein raw material (polycrystalline silicon) is automatically loaded into a quartz crucible. After a protection sheet (15) is employed to cover the inner side wall of the container (3), which has an inner diameter smaller than that of the quartz crucible (10), a present amount of polycrystalline silicon (17) is loaded from the loading means (6) into the container (3). The container (3) is then filled with pure water that is thereafter frozen into an ice block (22). Subsequently, the ice block (22) is raised up from the container (3). Thereafter, the protection sheet (15) is removed from the ice block (22) and the ice block (22) is loaded into the quartz crucible (10). The ice block (22) is then caused to melt and the quartz crucible (10) and polycrystalline silicon are caused to dry up. The above operations are performed by the conveying apparatus (1).