Abstract: A method for the contamination-free comminution of semiconductor material cludes an apparatus by which the method is carried out. The method includes creating at least one liquid jet by applying pressure to a liquid and forcing it through a nozzle, and directing the liquid jet against the semiconductor material, so that it impinges on its surface at high velocity. The apparatus includes a container for receiving comminuted semiconductor material, at least one nozzle through which a liquid jet is directed at high velocity against the semiconductor material to be comminuted, a conveyor device for removing the comminuted semiconductor material from the container, means for releasing and interrupting the liquid jet, and means for positioning the nozzle and/or advancing the semiconductor material.

Abstract: The process includes processing a molten phase of semiconductor material ering a solid phase of the material and having a free surface opposite this solid phase, into which, during the crystallization procedure, energy is radiated and material is fed in in granular form, which material floats and is melted. As a result, at the opposite solid/liquid interface, material grows on the solid phase which is drawn downwards in accordance with the growth rate. The process allows mono- or polycrystalline rods or blocks to be obtained. The main advantages of the process are that it can be carried out without melting vessels, it is possible to use granular material, and the energy balance is favorable because of the small amounts of melt.

Abstract: Bodies of hyperpure semiconductor material can be reduced in size without ntamination by being subjected to shock waves. The method is preferably carried out at room temperature, so that diffusion into the interior of the semiconductor, which is induced and/or accelerated by high temperatures, is largely avoided for superficially adsorbed foreign particles. The shock waves are generated in a focal point of a semiellipsoidal reflector by electrical discharge between two electrodes.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for pulling single crystals from a melt of semicontor material, in which a monocrystalline seed crystal grows to form a single crystal, the seed crystal being dipped into the melt and raised in a controlled manner in the vertical direction with respect to the melt, while the melt forms a molten pool which is held on a support body only by the surface tension and by electromagnetic forces due to an induction coil. This method includes recharging the melt with semiconductor material in solid or liquid form during the growth of the single crystal.

Abstract: A process for the wet-chemical treatment of workpieces, especially of semiconductor wafers, includes exposing the workpieces to a flow of a gassified treatment medium generated by homogeneously dispersing gas bubbles in a liquid.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing semiconductor wafers having deformation ground in a defined way.

Abstract: For the production of high-quality electronic components based on semiconductors, semiconductor wafers are needed which have a substantially lower oxygen concentration in the wafer region near the surface in which the components are integrated than in the other wafer region. This region, known as "denuded zone," was hitherto obtained by prolonged heat treatment of the wafers in a batch reactor as a consequence of partial diffusion of the oxygen out from the substrate. In the process according to the invention, the low-oxygen region is produced by the epitaxial deposition of two differently doped semiconductor layers on the wafer surface in a single-wafer reactor.

Abstract: A process for producing silicon wafers which have a storage-stable surface and which can be thermally oxidized directly, that is to say, without a prior HF immersion bath, and without the addition of halogen-containing gases, it being possible to achieve an equal or better oxidation result than that achieved by including these measures.

Abstract: The precise cutting of thin wafers from blocks or rods of hard and brittle material by means of ribbon or wire saws requires a very high strength of the sawing ribbon material or sawing wire material. In the method according to the invention, seamless metal rings are cold-rolled to form ribbon loops, optionally divided to form narrower ribbon loops or to form wire loops and optionally provided with a cutting coating. In this way, extremely strong cutting tools can be obtained.

Abstract: By means of the process and by means of the apparatus, fused silicon is produced continuously, or in phases, and zonally cast into a mold in which it is caused to solidify zonally. The temperature conditions in the solidification zone are controlled with the aid of a movable heating zone, by means of which the crystallization front is adjusted to the rising level that fills up the mold, this level being in turn controlled by the fusion rate of the silicon. Polycrystalline silicon blocks can be obtained in which, because of the flat shape of the crystallization front, the columnar single-crystal domains within the blocks extend almost vertically and which represent an excellent solar cell base material having high diffusion lengths and lifetimes of the minority charge carriers, from which solar cells of correspondingly high efficiencies can be produced.

Abstract: In the annular sawing of bars, in particular of semiconductor material, the ccurate fitting of the saw blade is of great importance. In the case of the conventional clamping systems, in which the saw blade is held on the machine rotary part by clamping forces exerted by means of a holding ring and is subjected to tension by means of an additional clamping ring, inadequate tensioning constancy is usually caused by the tensioning forces acting against the clamping forces. A tensioning behavior which is better in comparison can be achieved according to the invention by the tensioning forces being applied to the clamping ring by clamping elements releasably connected to the machine rotary part and consequently clamping forces and tensioning forces no longer being directed against one another. By the use of such clamping systems, longer saw blade service lives and higher sawing outputs can be achieved.

Abstract: A magazine is provided for holding disk-type workpieces, in particular seonductor wafers, in the wet-chemical surface treatment in liquid baths. The magazine is particularly useful for etching semiconductor wafers in a liquid bath, which contains an insert (5) which has a diameter of 1.1-1.9 times the diameter of the wafer (6) and which has arrangements of guide strut assemblies (12) held parallel at a spacing of at least twice the wafer thickness by spacing struts (8). The guide strut assemblies (12) comprise main guide struts (9) and subsidiary guide struts (10) which diverge at the linking points (13), which do not lie on the housing axis, in not more than three directions. This etching magazine makes possible a marked reduction in the deterioration in the wafer geometry normally observed in etching treatments.

Abstract: Silicon wafers are first subjected to an oxidative treatment and subsequey to exposure to organosilicon compounds which contain at least one radical in the molecule which is hydrolyzably bound to the silicon and at least one radical in the molecule having hydrophilic properties. Depending on the compound selected, more or less strongly hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties of the silicon surface can consequently be established under mild conditions. The wafers treated in such a manner have a high storage stability and retain their surface nature even under difficult climatic circumstances. The surface nature present after the oxidative treatment can then be restored particularly easily by hydrolysis.

Abstract: The separation of thin disk-type workpieces from a stack has, as a rule, hitherto been carried out by hand. An apparatus and a corresponding method are now provided which make it possible to lift the wafer off the stack without mechanical contact, and also to convey the separated wafers to the tray and to introduce them in an automated way without damage. In this method, a stack of disk-type workpieces is introduced into a wafer magazine with a feed unit which brings the uppermost wafer of the wafer stack into the sphere of action of a fluid medium which emerges under pressure in a preferred direction from a nozzle system. A dam makes it possible to remove a single wafer. The apparatus and the method make possible separation without damage while increasing the yield. In conjunction with a conveying apparatus, an apparatus for tray filling processing lines can be built up for automatically treating disk-type workpieces without damage.

Abstract: A process for the wet-chemical surface treatment of semiconductor wafers in which aqueous phases containing one or more chemically active substances in solution act on the wafer surfaces, consisting of spraying a water mist over the wafer surfaces and then introducing chemically active substances in the gaseous state so that these gaseous substances combine with the water mist so that there is an interaction of the gas phase and the liquid phase taking place on the surface of the semiconductor wafer. Gases such as hydrogen fluoride, chlorine and ozonized oxygen or other halogen gases act on the wafer surfaces between rinsing steps so that when the wafers are dried, the surfaces achieve extremely high cleanliness levels.

Abstract: In the chemo-mechanical polishing, in particular, of semiconductor wafers, he abrasion and the geometrical quality of the wafers decreases with increasing service life of the polishing cloth. This can be prevented by treating the polishing cloth in each case after the polishing operation in a manner such that a pressure field is impressed, essentially without mechanical stress, on the polishing cloth, which pressure field causes a treatment liquid to flow through the interior of the polishing cloth and in this process the residues produced during polishing are rendered mobile and removed. A baseplate placed transversely across the polishing cloth and having a flat working surface provided with exit openings for the treatment liquid is suitable for carrying out the process. In the treatment, the treatment liquid is forced beneath the baseplate into the moving polishing cloth so that the latter is gradually traversed by the zone through which flow takes place.

Abstract: Semiconductor slices, in particular having the surface polished on both ss, can be provided with a surface which effects the formation of gettering centers. These centers include stacking faults and/or dislocation networks in subsequent thermal treatment steps by a pressure loading being exerted on them with the aid of an elastic pressure transmission medium which causes local pressure inhomogeneities. A material erosion, for example in the form of scratches, is not necessary in this process. Advantageously, the treatment is carried out during a template polishing step in which a suitable pressure transmission medium is in contact with the rear side of the slice. The process makes available semiconductor slices with gettering action on one side which have a high surface quality on both sides.

Abstract: Semiconductor wafers, in particular, silicon wafers, with differently poled front and rear sides and high geometrical quality can be fabricated by double-sided polishing if the wafer surfaces are differently polarized during the polishing process. This can be achieved in a simple fashion, in that during polishing, an electric field is set up between the upper and lower polishing plates. This can be accomplished by providing the upper polishing plate between the plate surface and the polishing cloth with a thin conductive layer insulated with respect thereto, on which a voltage can be impressed, while both polishing plates are grounded to the frame.

Abstract: A device in which the wafers are moved with the aid of aqueous media, is posed for the transportation of semiconductor wafers and also for use in processes for the cleaning thereof, the device including a guideplate having a bottom plate with nozzle systems which are differently inclined in each case and independent of one another and through which the transportation fluid is, if necessary, forced into the transportation space, as a result of which the wafer can be loaded, retarded, caused to rotate and unloaded again. The devices can be combined to form treatment lines, different fluids being used in each case in the individual sections thereof, so that no mechanically moving parts act on the wafers during retardation and rotation and that no change of reagents has to be carried out inside a treatment station.

Abstract: Silicon ingots, in particular, with diameters of approximately 75 mm and greater, can be produced by zone pulling with an oxygen content comparable to crucible-pulled material if a flat quartz element is brought into contact with the molten cap during the pulling operation. A quartz ring which is arranged concentrically beneath the induction heating coil and can be lowered from a rest position into its working position on the molten cap is suitable as a flat element. The ingot material obtained in this manner and also the silicon wafers produced therefrom combine the purity advantages of zone-pulled silicon with the beneficial gettering and hardening action of the incorporated oxygen which otherwise distinguishes only crucible-pulled silicon.