Abstract: Methods for producing a silicon wafer from a defect-free silicon single crystal grown by a Czochralski (CZ) method are provided. The methods comprise: preparing a silicon wafer obtained by slicing the defect-free silicon single crystal and subjected to mirror-polishing; then performing a heat treatment step of subjecting the mirror-polished silicon wafer to heat treatment at a temperature of 500° C. or higher but 600° C. or lower for 4 hours or more but 6 hours or less; and performing a repolishing step of repolishing the silicon wafer after the heat treatment step such that a polishing amount becomes 1.5 ?m or more. Therefore, it is an object to provide a method by which a silicon wafer can be produced at a high yield, the silicon wafer in which Light Point Defects (LPDs) are reduced to a minimum, the silicon wafer with a low failure-incidence rate in an inspection step and a shipment stage.

Abstract: A method of producing a phosphorus-doped silicon single crystal, including pulling the phosphorus-doped silicon single crystal from a silicon melt doped with phosphorus by Magnetic field applied Czochralski (MCZ) method, wherein the phosphorus is doped such that a phosphorus concentration of the phosphorus-doped silicon single crystal is 2×1016 atoms/cm3 or more, and a horizontal magnetic field is applied to the silicon melt with a central magnetic field strength of 2,000 gauss or more such that the phosphorus-doped silicon single crystal to be produced has an oxygen concentration of 1.6×1018 atoms/cm3 (ASTM'79) or more. A method of producing a silicon single crystal that is heavily doped with phosphorus and has an oxygen concentration of 1.6×1018 atoms/cm3 (ASTM'79) or more.

Abstract: A method for measuring a distance between a lower end surface of a heat insulating member and a surface of a raw material melt with a reference reflector provided at a lower end of the heat insulating member which is located above the surface of the raw material melt when a silicon single crystal is pulled up by a Czochralski method while a magnetic field is applied to the raw material melt in a crucible is disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention is an apparatus for producing a single crystal, growing the single crystal by the Czochralski method and comprising at least: a main chamber in which a crucible for accommodating a raw material melt and a heater for heating the raw material melt are arranged; a pulling chamber into which the grown single crystal is pulled and accommodated, the pulling chamber being continuously provided above the main chamber; and a cooling cylinder extending at least from a ceiling of the main chamber toward a surface of the raw material melt so as to surround the single crystal during pulling, the cooling cylinder being forcibly cooled with a cooling medium. As a result, there is provided an apparatus for producing a single crystal that can increase the growth rate of the single crystal by efficiently cooling the single crystal during the growth.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of producing silicon carbide, comprising: providing a silicon-crystal producing apparatus with a carbon heater; forming a silicon carbide by-product on a surface of the carbon heater when a silicon crystal is produced from a silicon melt contained in a container heated by the carbon heater under a non-oxidizing atmosphere; and collecting the silicon carbide by-product to produce the silicon carbide. A method that can produce silicon carbide with low energy at low cost is thereby provided.

Abstract: A method for growing a silicon single crystal by a Czochralski method, includes: conducting preliminary examination of growth conditions under which crystal collapse does not occur, the preliminary examination being based on a correlation between presence or absence of the crystal collapse in the silicon single crystal and a position at which an internal stress in the crystal when the silicon single crystal is grown will exceed a prescribed threshold, the position being away from a crystal growth interface; and growing the silicon single crystal in accordance with the growth conditions under which the crystal collapse does not occur, the growth conditions being determined from the preliminary examination. The method can grow a silicon single crystal while crystal collapse is effectively prevented.

Abstract: A silicon single crystal growing apparatus based on a Czochralski method arranges a graphite crucible inside a graphite heater for heating and a quartz crucible inside the graphite crucible and grows a crystal from a raw material melt filling the quartz crucible, and includes a heater outer heat-insulating member outside the graphite heater, a crucible lower heat-insulating member below the graphite crucible, a crucible upper heat-insulating member above straight bodies of the graphite and quartz crucibles, a crucible outer heat-insulating member outside the straight body of the graphite crucible, a crucible inner heat-insulating member inside the straight bodies of the graphite crucible and the quartz crucible, and a heat shielding member above a liquid surface of the raw material melt, the graphite crucible and the quartz crucible being movable upward and downward in a space enclosed with the crucible upper heat-insulating, crucible outer heat-insulating, and crucible inner heat-insulating members.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for evaluating silicon single crystal wherein an amount ?[C] of carriers generated due to oxygen donors produced when a heat treatment is performed to the silicon single crystal is calculated and evaluated, the amount ?[C] being calculated from oxygen concentration [Oi] in the silicon single crystal, a temperature T of the heat treatment, a time t of the heat treatment, and an oxygen diffusion coefficient D(T) at the temperature T by using the following relational expression: ?[C]=?[Oi]5×exp(??·D(T)·[Oi]·t) (where ? and ? are constants). As a result, there is provided a method that enables evaluating an amount of carriers generated due to oxygen donors in silicon single crystal in a further versatile manner.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a silicon single crystal wafer, wherein, under a growth condition that V/G?1.05×(V/G)crt is achieved where V is a growth rate in growth of the silicon single crystal ingot, G is a temperature gradient near a crystal growth interface, and (V/G)crt is a value of V/G when a dominant point defect changes from a vacancy to interstitial Si, a silicon single crystal ingot having oxygen concentration of 7×1017 atoms/cm3 (ASTM'79) or less is grown, and a silicon single crystal wafer which includes a region where the vacancy is dominant and in which FPDs are not detected by preferential etching is manufactured from the grown silicon single crystal ingot. As a result, there is provided the method that enables manufacturing a low-oxygen concentration silicon single crystal wafer that can be preferably used for a power device with good productivity at a low cost.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing an epitaxial wafer for manufacture of an image pickup device, wherein, before the growth of the epitaxial layer, a thickness X of a region where oxygen concentration in the epitaxial layer becomes 4×1017 atoms/cm3 or more after the manufacture of the image pickup device is calculated and, in the growth of the epitaxial layer, the epitaxial layer is grown with a thickness such that a thickness of a region where the oxygen concentration in the epitaxial layer is less than 4×1017 atoms/cm3 after the manufacture of the image pickup device is 6 ?m or more in addition to the thickness X. As a result, it is possible to provide the epitaxial wafer in which an adverse effect of an impurity such as oxygen in the silicon wafer is not exerted on an image pickup device forming portion of the epitaxial layer and a manufacturing method thereof.

Abstract: A method for calculating a nitrogen concentration in a silicon single crystal doped with nitrogen, wherein the correlation among a carrier concentration difference ?[n] obtained from a difference between resistivity after heat treatment by which an oxygen donor is eliminated and resistivity after heat treatment by which a nitrogen-oxygen donor is eliminated, an oxygen concentration [Oi], and a nitrogen concentration [N] in the nitrogen-doped silicon single crystal is obtained in advance, and an unknown nitrogen concentration [N] in a nitrogen-doped silicon single crystal is obtained by calculation from the carrier concentration difference ?[n] and the oxygen concentration [Oi] based on the correlation. As a result, a method for calculating a nitrogen concentration in a silicon single crystal, the method that can obtain the value of a nitrogen concentration even when an oxygen concentration is different, and a method for calculating the shift amount of resistivity are provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for evaluating silicon single crystal wherein an amount ?[C] of carriers generated due to oxygen donors produced when a heat treatment is performed to the silicon single crystal is calculated and evaluated, the amount ?[C] being calculated from oxygen concentration [Oi] in the silicon single crystal, a temperature T of the heat treatment, a time t of the heat treatment, and an oxygen diffusion coefficient D(T) at the temperature T by using the following relational expression: ?[C]=?[Oi]5×exp(??·D(T)·[Oi]·t) (where ? and ? are constants). As a result, there is provided a method that enables evaluating an amount of carriers generated due to oxygen donors in silicon single crystal in a further versatile manner.

Abstract: A method for measuring a distance between a lower end surface of a heat shielding member including a criterion reflector inside a concavity on the lower end surface and a surface of a raw material melt includes: a silicon single crystal is pulled by the Czochralski method while a magnetic field is applied to the raw material melt in a crucible, measuring the distance between the lower end surface of the heat shielding member and the surface of the raw material melt and observing a position of a mirror image of the criterion reflector with a fixed point observation apparatus; and measuring a movement distance of the mirror image with the apparatus and calculating the distance between the lower end surface of the heat shielding member and the surface of the raw material melt from the movement distance of the image and the measured distance.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus for producing single crystals according to the Czochralski method, the apparatus including a chamber that can be divided into a plurality of chambers; at least one of the plurality of divided chambers having a circulating coolant passage in which a circulating coolant for cooling the chamber circulates; and measuring means that respectively measure an inlet temperature, an outlet temperature, and a circulating coolant flow rate of the circulating coolant in the circulating coolant passage; the apparatus further including a calculating means that calculates a quantity of heat removed from the chamber and/or a proportion of the quantity of removed heat, from the measured values of the inlet temperature, outlet temperature, and circulating coolant flow rate; and a pulling rate control means that controls a pulling rate of the single crystal based on the resulting quantity of removed heat and/or the resulting proportion of the quantity of removed heat.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for producing a silicon wafer from a defect-free silicon single crystal grown by a CZ method, the method comprising: preparing a silicon wafer obtained by slicing the defect-free silicon single crystal and subjected to mirror-polishing; then performing a heat treatment step of subjecting the mirror-polished silicon wafer to heat treatment at a temperature of 500° C. or higher but 600° C. or lower for 4 hours or more but 6 hours or less; and performing a repolishing step of repolishing the silicon wafer after the heat treatment step such that a polishing amount becomes 1.5 ?m or more. Therefore, it is an object to provide a method by which a silicon wafer can be produced at a high yield, the silicon wafer in which LPDs are reduced to a minimum, the silicon wafer with a low failure-incidence rate in an inspection step and a shipment stage.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a silica glass crucible, includes: preparing a crucible base material that is made of silica glass and has a crucible shape; fabricating a synthetic silica glass material based on a direct method or a soot method; processing the synthetic silica glass material into the crucible shape without being pulverized; and bonding an inner wall of the crucible base material and an outer wall of the synthetic silica glass material processed into the crucible shape through a silica powder by performing a heat treatment. As a result, it is possible to provide the silica glass crucible that can avoid occurrence of dislocations of silicon single crystal at the time of manufacturing the silicon single crystal, has high heat-resisting properties, and can suppress a reduction in productivity and yield ratio, the manufacturing method thereof, and the method for manufacturing silicon single crystal using such a silica glass crucible.

Abstract: The present invention provides a silicon single crystal wafer sliced out from a silicon single crystal ingot grown by a Czochralski method, wherein the silicon single crystal wafer is sliced out from the silicon single crystal ingot having oxygen concentration of 8×1017 atoms/cm3 (ASTM' 79) or less and includes of a defect region where neither FPDs nor LEPs are detected by preferential etching but LSTDs are detected by an infrared scattering method. As a result, the wafer having the low oxygen concentration can be provided at low cost without causing a breakdown voltage failure or a leak failure at the time of fabricating a device.

Abstract: A single crystal production apparatus including: a crucible containing raw material melt; a heater heating the raw material melt; a cooling cylinder that is cooled forcedly by a cooling medium; and a cooling chamber that houses the crucible, the heater, and the cooling cylinder, wherein a heat-shielding member having a heat insulating material is disposed, near an interface between the raw material melt and a single crystal being pulled, in such a way as to surround the single crystal being pulled, the cooling cylinder is disposed above the heat-shielding member in such a way as to surround the single crystal being pulled, and a cooling-cylinder-peripheral heat insulator is disposed with a gap provided between the cooling-cylinder-peripheral heat insulator and a periphery of the cooling cylinder in such a way as to surround the cooling cylinder.

Abstract: A method for measuring a distance between a lower end surface of a heat shielding member including a criterion reflector inside a concavity on the lower end surface and a surface of a raw material melt includes: a silicon single crystal is pulled by the Czochralski method while a magnetic field is applied to the raw material melt in a crucible, measuring the distance between the lower end surface of the heat shielding member and the surface of the raw material melt and observing a position of a mirror image of the criterion reflector with a fixed point observation apparatus; and measuring a movement distance of the mirror image with the apparatus and calculating the distance between the lower end surface of the heat shielding member and the surface of the raw material melt from the movement distance of the image and the measured distance.

Abstract: The present invention is a method for producing a single crystal that is a multi-pulling method for pulling a plurality of single crystals from a raw material melt in a same crucible in a chamber by a Czochralski method, comprising steps of: pulling a single crystal from a raw material melt ; then additionally charging polycrystalline raw material in a residual raw material melt without turning off power of a heater, and melting the polycrystalline raw material; then pulling a next single crystal; and repeating the steps and thereby pulling the plurality of single crystals.