Patents Examined by Hua Qi
  • Patent number: 11781242
    Abstract: A convection pattern control method includes: heating a silicon melt in a quartz crucible using a heating portion; and applying a horizontal magnetic field to the silicon melt in the quartz crucible being rotated. In the heating of the silicon, the silicon melt is heated with the heating portion whose heating capacity differs on both sides across an imaginary line passing through a center axis of the quartz crucible and being in parallel to a central magnetic field line of the horizontal magnetic field when the quartz crucible is viewed from vertically above. In the applying of the horizontal magnetic field, the horizontal magnetic field of 0.2 tesla or more is applied to fix a direction of a convection flow in a single direction in a plane orthogonal to an application direction of the horizontal magnetic field in the silicon melt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideki Sakamoto, Wataru Sugimura, Ryusuke Yokoyama, Naoki Matsushima
  • Patent number: 11767610
    Abstract: Methods for producing single crystal silicon ingots by Continuous Czochralski (CCz) are disclosed. A batch of buffer members (e.g., quartz cullets) is added to an outer melt zone of the crucible assembly before the main body of the ingot is grown. In some embodiments, the ratio of the mass M of the batch of buffer members added to the melt to the time between adding the batch of buffer members to the melt and when the ingot main body begins to grow is controlled such that the ratio of M/T is greater than a threshold M/T.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Matteo Pannocchia, Francesca Marchese, James Ho Wai Kitt
  • Patent number: 11761114
    Abstract: In a method of producing a SiC single crystal ingot of the present invention, in a lower part of a crucible, a high thermal conductivity raw material layer containing a high thermal conductivity raw material and a low thermal conductivity raw material layer containing a low thermal conductivity raw material in at least one of a position above or below the high thermal conductivity raw material layer are disposed to form a raw material part, and heating is performed so that the raw material part reaches the maximum temperature in the high thermal conductivity raw material layer and a SiC single crystal ingot is grown.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Resonac Corporation
    Inventor: Yohei Fujikawa
  • Patent number: 11761117
    Abstract: A physical vapor transport growth system includes a growth chamber charged with SiC source material and a SiC seed crystal in spaced relation and an envelope that is at least partially gas-permeable disposed in the growth chamber. The envelope separates the growth chamber into a source compartment that includes the SiC source material and a crystallization compartment that includes the SiC seed crystal. The envelope is formed of a material that is reactive to vapor generated during sublimation growth of a SiC single crystal on the SiC seed crystal in the crystallization compartment to produce C-bearing vapor that acts as an additional source of C during the growth of the SiC single crystal on the SiC seed crystal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: II-VI DELAWARE, INC.
    Inventors: Avinash Gupta, Ilya Zwieback, Edward Semenas, Marcus Getkin, Patrick Flynn
  • Patent number: 11761113
    Abstract: The present invention provides a SiC single crystal manufacturing apparatus, including a crystal growth vessel which has a source loading portion to hold a SiC source, and a lid which is provided with a seed crystal support to hold a seed crystal; an insulating material which has at least one through-hole and covers the crystal growth vessel; a heater which is configured to heat the crystal growth vessel; and a temperature measuring instrument which is configured to measure the temperature of the crystal growth vessel through the through-hole, wherein the inner wall surface of the through-hole of the insulating material is coated with a coating material which contains a heat-resistant metal carbide or a heat-resistant metal nitride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Resonac Corporation
    Inventor: Kotaro Ishita
  • Patent number: 11746439
    Abstract: A pressure container for crystal production having excellent corrosion-resistance is provided. This pressure container produces crystals within the container using a seed crystal, a mineralizer, a raw material, and ammonia in a supercritical state or a subcritical state as a solvent. The pressure container has Ag present over the entire surface of at least the inner surface thereof in contact with the solvent. The Ag can be disposed by one or a combination of two or more among, for instance, Ag lining, Ag welding, and Ag plating. The mineralizer is preferably a fluorine mineralizer containing no halogen atoms other than fluorine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignees: JAPAN STEEL WORKS M&E, INC., TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Kouhei Kurimoto, Quanxi Bao, Mutsuo Ueda, Yuji Sasagawa, Masaya Morimoto, Toru Ishiguro, Shigefusa Chichibu
  • Patent number: 11739437
    Abstract: Methods for forming single crystal silicon ingots with improved resistivity control are disclosed. The methods involve growth of a sample rod. The sample rod may have a diameter less than the diameter of the product ingot. The sample rod is cropped to form a center slab. The resistivity of the center slab may be measured directly such as by a four-point probe. The sample rod or optionally the center slab may be annealed in a thermal donor kill cycle prior to measuring the resistivity, and the annealed rod or slab is irradiated with light in order to enhance the relaxation rate and enable more rapid resistivity measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Carissima Marie Hudson, HyungMin Lee, JaeWoo Ryu, Richard J. Phillips, Robert Wendell Standley
  • Patent number: 11725301
    Abstract: The method for manufacturing a crystal for a synthetic gem includes the step of preparing a SiC single crystal including an n-type impurity, and the step of irradiating the SiC single crystal with an electron beam to generate a carbon vacancy in the SiC single crystal. Irradiation energy and dose in electron beam irradiation are set such that the density of the carbon vacancy is higher than the density of the n-type impurity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: BRILLAR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Iso Ohara, Tsunenobu Kimoto
  • Patent number: 11708642
    Abstract: A mono-crystalline silicon growth apparatus is provided. The mono-crystalline silicon growth apparatus includes a furnace, a support base disposed in the furnace, a crucible disposed on the support base, and a heating module. The support base and the crucible do not rotate relative to the heating module, and an axial direction is defined to be along a central axis of the crucible. The heating module is disposed at an outer periphery of the support base and includes a first heating unit, a second heating unit, and a third heating unit. The first heating unit, the second heating unit, and the third heating unit are respectively disposed at positions with different heights corresponding to the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chun-Hung Chen, Hsing-Pang Wang, Wen-Ching Hsu, I-Ching Li
  • Patent number: 11708643
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a monocrystalline silicon with Czochralski process, including: providing polycrystalline silicon and dopant to quartz crucible in single crystal furnace and vacuumizing, melting the polycrystalline silicon under protective gas to obtain silicon melt; after temperature of the silicon melt is stable, immersing seed crystal into the silicon melt to start seeding, lifting a shield away from surface of the silicon melt to adjust distance between the shield and the silicon melt to first preset distance; after seeding, performing shouldering to pull the crystal to increase diameter of the crystal to preset width; starting constant-diameter body growth, lowering the shield towards the surface of the silicon melt to adjust the distance to second preset distance; after growth, entering a tailing stage during which the diameter of the crystal is reduced until the crystal is separated from the silicon melt; and cooling the crystal to obtain monocrystalline silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Shangrao Jinko solar Technology Development Co., LTD
    Inventors: Jun Yang, Weize Shang, Xiaolong Bai
  • Patent number: 11702760
    Abstract: In a producing method of an n-type monocrystalline silicon by pulling up a monocrystalline silicon from a silicon melt containing a main dopant in a form of red phosphorus to grow the monocrystalline silicon, the monocrystalline silicon exhibiting an electrical resistivity ranging from 0.5 m?cm to 1.0 m?cm is pulled up using a quartz crucible whose inner diameter ranges from 1.7-fold to 2.3-fold relative to a straight-body diameter of the monocrystalline silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koichi Maegawa, Yasuhito Narushima, Yasufumi Kawakami, Fukuo Ogawa, Ayumi Kihara
  • Patent number: 11661671
    Abstract: A method of producing a crystalline material is provided that may include providing a crystal growth apparatus comprising a chamber, a hot zone, and a muffle. The hot zone may be disposed within the chamber and include at least one heating system, at least one heat removal system, and a crucible containing feedstock. Additionally, the method may include providing a muffle that surrounds at least two sides of the crucible to ensure uniform temperature distribution through the feedstock during crystal growth to allow the crystalline material to be grown with a square or rectangular shaped cross section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: CRYSTAL SYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventors: Frederick Schmid, Cody Riopel, Hui Zhang
  • Patent number: 11629433
    Abstract: The invention provides a SiC single crystal production apparatus with high uniformity of temperature distribution in a crystal growth vessel. The SiC single crystal production apparatus includes a crystal growth vessel containing SiC raw material; an insulation part covering the periphery of the crystal growth vessel; a heater used to heat the crystal growth vessel; and a holding member used to hold the crystal growth vessel, wherein the crystal growth vessel is held in a suspended state by the holding member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: SHOWA DENKO K.K.
    Inventor: Tomoya Utashiro
  • Patent number: 11608567
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a crucible for an ingot growing apparatus capable of increasing the life span of a graphite crucible. One embodiment of the present invention provides a crucible for an ingot growing apparatus including: a quartz crucible containing a silicon melt and having a lower surface part with a curved shape; a graphite crucible accommodating the quartz crucible and having a body shape divided into at least two parts with respect to a lower surface thereof; and an inner supporter supported between the lower surface of the quartz crucible and the graphite crucible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: SK SILTRON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: In Gu Kang, Do Yeon Kim, Young Jung Lee
  • Patent number: 11598019
    Abstract: A crucible-supporting pedestal includes a fitting recess portion into which a divided graphite member is fittable. An opening edge of the fitting recess portion is formed such that a contact area between the opening edge and the divided graphite member is provided at a position higher than a surface of a solidified product of a silicon melt which remains in a quartz crucible after a silicon single crystal is grown, and a force, which is applied to the divided graphite member by an expansion of the silicon melt when the silicon melt is solidified, is applied to a position lower than the contact area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Munezane
  • Patent number: 11591714
    Abstract: A method of producing silicon carbide is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing a sublimation furnace comprising a furnace shell, at least one heating element positioned outside the furnace shell, and a hot zone positioned inside the furnace shell surrounded by insulation. The hot zone comprises a crucible with a silicon carbide precursor positioned in the lower region and a silicon carbide seed positioned in the upper region. The hot zone is heated to sublimate the silicon carbide precursor, forming silicon carbide on the bottom surface of the silicon carbide seed. Also disclosed is the sublimation furnace to produce the silicon carbide as well as the resulting silicon carbide material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: GTAT Corporation
    Inventors: Roman V. Drachev, Santhanaraghavan Parthasarathy, Andriy M. Andrukhiv, David S. Lyttle
  • Patent number: 11591710
    Abstract: A method for crystallizing an amorphous multicomponent ionic compound comprises applying an external stimulus to a layer of an amorphous multicomponent ionic compound, the layer in contact with an amorphous surface of a deposition substrate at a first interface and optionally, the layer in contact with a crystalline surface at a second interface, wherein the external stimulus induces an amorphous-to-crystalline phase transformation, thereby crystallizing the layer to provide a crystalline multicomponent ionic compound, wherein the external stimulus and the crystallization are carried out at a temperature below the melting temperature of the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound. If the layer is in contact with the crystalline surface at the second interface, the temperature is further selected to achieve crystallization from the crystalline surface via solid phase epitaxial (SPE) growth without nucleation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Paul Gregory Evans, Thomas Francis Kuech, Susan Elizabeth Babcock, Mohammed Humed Yusuf, Yajin Chen
  • Patent number: 11591717
    Abstract: A vapor phase epitaxial growth device comprises a reactor vessel and a wafer holder arranged within the reactor vessel. The wafer holder includes a wafer holding surface configured to hold a wafer with a wafer surface oriented substantially vertically downward. The device comprises a first material gas supply pipe configured to supply a first material gas and arranged below the wafer holding surface. The device comprises a second material gas supply pipe configured to supply a second material gas and arranged below the wafer holding surface. The device comprises a gas exhaust pipe configured to exhaust gases and arranged below the wafer holding surface. A distance between the gas exhaust pipe and an axis line passing through a center of the wafer holding surface is greater than distances between the axis line and each of the first material gas supply pipe and the second material gas supply pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignees: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION NAGOYA UNIVERSITY, TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shugo Nitta, Yoshio Honda, Kentaro Nagamatsu, Hiroshi Amano, Naoki Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 11585010
    Abstract: Methods for producing a single crystal silicon ingot are disclosed. The ingot is doped with boron using solid-phase boric acid as the source of boron. Boric acid may be used to counter-dope the ingot during ingot growth. Ingot puller apparatus that use a solid-phase dopant are also disclosed. The solid-phase dopant may be disposed in a receptacle that is moved closer to the surface of the melt or a vaporization unit may be used to produce a dopant gas from the solid-phase dopant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: William L. Luter, Hariprasad Sreedharamurthy, Stephan Haringer, Richard J. Phillips, Nan Zhang, Yu-Chaio Wu
  • Patent number: 11535952
    Abstract: A wafer carrier includes a pocket sized and shaped to accommodate a wafer, the pocket having a base and a substantially circular perimeter, and a removable orientation marker, the removable orientation marker comprising an outer surface and an inner surface, the outer surface having an arcuate form sized and shaped to mate with the substantially circular perimeter of the pocket, and the inner surface comprising a flat face, wherein the removable orientation marker further comprises a notch at a first end of the flat face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Americas Corp.
    Inventors: Mihir Tungare, Peter Kim, Jianwei Wan, Chankyung Choi