Abstract: The invention provides titanium dioxide fine particles, wherein nitrogen and at least one element selected from carbon, hydrogen, sulfur doped in titanium dioxide by heat-treating fine particles of a material of titanium dioxide at 500° C. or more and 600° C. or less in a reducing gas atmosphere containing nitrogen. The titanium fine particles exhibit a high photocatalytic activity than in the conventional art by irradiating a visible light such that they exhibit an isopropanol oxidation activity induced by visible light irradiation with a wavelength of 400 nm or more and 600 nm or less with excellent stability and durability of the photocatalytic activity.

Abstract: This invention provides a cleaning method of silicon wafer for obtaining a silicon wafer in which micro roughness thereof under spatial frequency of 20/&mgr;m is 0.3 to 1.5 nm3 in terms of power spectrum density, by passing a process of oxidizing the silicon wafer with ozonized water and a process of cleaning said oxidized silicon wafer with hydrofluoric acid. Consequently, it is possible to remove surface adhering pollutant such as particles and metallic foreign matter with the surface structure of silicon wafer flattened up to atomic level by annealing maintained.

Abstract: A method for producing a Si—SiC member for heat treatment of semiconductor, which is suitable for heat treatment of a semiconductor wafer with a large diameter and capable of reducing the contamination of the semiconductor wafer as much as possible is provided. Further, a method for producing a Si—SiC member for heat treatment of semiconductor capable of reducing the contamination of the semiconductor wafer as much as possible and causing no slip is provided. This method comprises the first step of kneading a SiC powder having a total metal impurity quantity of 0.2 ppm or less with a molding assistant; the second step of forming a compact from the kneaded raw material; the third step of calcining the compact; the fourth step of purifying the calcined body; and the fifth step of impregnating the purified body with silicon within a sealed vessel provided in a heating furnace body.

Abstract: The invention provides a viscoelasticity measuring device which is capable of imparting a desired displacement profile to a sample under conditions close to that of actual use. The viscoelasticity measuring device is composed of a presser to impart displacements to a sample; a rod to convey the displacements to the presser; a control jig kept in contact with an upper end portion of the rod and adapted to move to impart a desired displacement to the rod; a load cell which detects a load exerted to the sample to detect a stress generated in the sample; and a displacement sensor to detect the displacement in the sample; the displacements imparted of the sample being defined in accordance with a configuration and a moving speed of the control jig.

Abstract: A silica glass crucible 1 having &agr; of 0.05 or less over a thickness of 0.5 mm or more from the inner surface of the silica glass crucible, &agr; being obtained by dividing the fluorescent intensity integrated over a wavelength range of 4,000 cm−1 and 4,100 cm−1 by the fluorescent intensity integrated at a wavelength of 800 cm−1 where an SiO peak appears as determined by subjecting a section of the thickness of the silica glass crucible to laser Raman spectroscopy involving excitation by laser beam of 514 nm, and an OH group concentration of 100 ppm or less over the entire periphery beyond a thickness of at least 1.0 mm from the inner surface of the silica glass crucible.

Abstract: A plasma-resistant article is provided in which a surface region of the article to be exposed to plasma in a corrosive atmosphere is formed from a zirconia-based ceramic that contains yttria in an amount of 7 to 17 mol %. The plasma-resistant article exhibits a sufficient resistance against exposure to plasma and is cost-effective. Preferably, the surface region has a centerline average roughness (Ra) of 1.2 to 5.0 &mgr;m, which is readily achieved through the use of an etching solution containing hydrofluoric acid. The present invention also provides a production method for such a plasma-resistant article.

Abstract: A submerged nozzle for continuous thin-slab casting by which a high quality thin-slab strand may be stably supplied for a long time in a continuous manner is provided, as a drift current and surface fluctuation of molten steel in the nozzle and a mold are prevented, and adhesion of ground metal to the nozzle, the damages of the nozzle and the like are suppressed even under long time use.

Abstract: The invention presents an immersion nozzle having corrosion resistance to steel of high oxygen content or type of steel treated with calcium, and capable of preventing adheres and deposits of molten steel and oxide inclusions on the nozzle inner wall, in which at least a part of its portion contacting with molten steel is composed of a refractory material containing 50 wt. % or more of a principal component including one or more types of magnesia, alumina, spinel, zirconia, mullite, and silica, and also 0.3 to 15 wt. % of boron nitride, and an organic binder.

Abstract: It is provided that a reflection plate of semiconductor heat treatment, which is resistant to cracks or deformations by controlling the adsorption of foreign materials and the production of reaction. Said reflection plate 1 for semiconductor heat treatment is composed of a disk-shaped or ring-shaped plate of optically transmissible material and a plate 2 of inorganic material hermetically enclosed in said disk-shaped or ring-shaped plate, in which said plate of inorganic material has at least one side in contact with said plate of optically transmissible material, said at least one side 2a having a surface roughness of Ra 0.1 to 10.0 &mgr;m, said at least one side 2a formed grooves 2c therein.

Abstract: A carbon wire heating element sealing heater is provided. Therein, a carbon wire heating element using carbon fibers is sealed in a quartz glass member, wherein absorption water quantity of the carbon wire heating element is 2×10−3 g/cm3 or less.

Abstract: A wafer inspection apparatus has a supporting means (10) for rotatably supporting a wafer (W) formed of a disk, a circumferential edge imaging means (40) for imaging a circumferential edge (S) of the wafer (W) that is supported by the supporting means for rotation, a notch imaging means (50) for imaging a notch (N), a notch illumination part (52) for illuminating the notch (N), and a control means (70) for processing image data imaged by the circumferential edge imaging means (40) and the notch imaging means (50). The circumferential edge imaging means (40) has a plurality of imaging cameras (41) for imaging a plurality of different parts in a thickness direction of the circumferential edge of the wafer (W). The different parts of the circumferential edge (S) of the wafer (W) include an apex at right angles to a surface of the wafer (W) and a front side bevel and a back side bevel inclined relative to the apex.

Abstract: A heater sealed with carbon wire heating element has a carbon wire heating element sealed with a quartz glass member, the carbon wire being prepared by knitting carbon single fibers into a knitted cord of a braid, each wire having a crystal structure with a interlayer spacing d (002) thereof being 0.343 or less and crystallite size Lc (002) thereof being 4.0 nm or more.

Abstract: A silica glass member for semiconductor in which each concentration of Fe, Cu, Cr and Ni is 5 ppb or less and the concentration of an OH group is 30 ppm or less and which has a viscosity of 1013.0 poise or more at 1200° C. is provided as a silica glass member for semiconductor having high heat-resistance and higher purity.

Abstract: A single crystal pulling apparatus comprising, a laser unit 46 emitting a beam with a wavelength of 550 nm or less to form a spot on the surface of said melt, a spot camera 47 capturing the spot to produce electrical image signals corresponding thereto, an image processor 50 processing the electrical image signals to produce image data, and a control unit 49 receiving the image data and calculating a current melt level so that a crucible shaft lift 8 moves a crucible shaft up and down to adjust the melt level in accordance with the predetermined melt level.

Abstract: A wafer processing member having: a base material made of a material isotropic in all in-plane directions; and a ceramic film with which the base material is coated; wherein: the base material has a thickness of not larger than 3 mm; difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between the base material and the ceramic film is in a range of from 0.6×10−6 to 1.2×10−6/° C.; and variation in coefficient of thermal expansion of the base material in all in-plane directions is not larger than 0.05×10−6/° C.

Abstract: A method of chemically growing a thin film in a gas phase using a rotary gaseous phase thin film growth apparatus which feeds a material gas by flowing down the gas from above to a surface of a rotating silicon semiconductor substrate to grow a thin film on a surface of said silicon semiconductor substrate in a method of chemically growing a thin film that a thin film-growing reaction is done wherein: monosilane gas is used as an effective component of the material gas to grow the thin film under a reduced pressure of from 2.7×102 to 6.7×103 Pa with the number of rotations of said silicon semiconductor substrate being from 500 to 2000 min−1 and at a reaction temperature of from 600° C. to 800° C.

Abstract: The present invention provides a plasma resistant member having a reinforced mechanical strength and being sufficiently durable to exposure to a low pressure high density plasma. At least the surface of the alumina based material is formed of an oxide or composite oxide layer of a group IIIA element via an intermediate layer. It is preferable in the construction of the plasma resistant member that the intermediate layer comprises 10 to 80% by weight of the oxide or composite oxide of the group IIIA element in the periodic table and 90 to 20% by weight of alumina. The intermediate layer may also comprise a course ceramic with a porosity of 0.2 to 5%. It is also desirable that at least one of the conditions such as a difference in the thermal shrinkage ratio at 1600 to 1900° C. of 3% or less is provided.

Abstract: To provide a method for producing a ceramic porous material which has a high strength, though it has a high porosity, and which is excellent in permeability without dust generation. In a ceramic porous material having a three-dimensional mesh-like skeleton structure with a large number of substantially spherical adjacent cells communicating with each other via communication holes, the crystal particle size at the rim of each communication hole in the skeleton structure is provided substantially equal to the crystal particle size in the other parts.

Abstract: A plasma-resistant member for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which can reduce the contamination level on a semiconductor wafer. The contents of Fe, Ni, Cr and Cu are made lower than 1.0 ppm respectively within a depth of at least 10 &mgr;m from surface in a plasma-resistant member.

Abstract: At the time of fabricating a silicon single crystal wafer from a nitrogen-doped silicon single crystal grown according to the Czochralski method, a silicon single crystal wafer covered with a region in which an oxygen precipitation bulk micro defect and an oxidation induced stacking fault mixedly exist is subjected to heat treatment at a temperature of 1100 to 1300° C. in a reducing gas or inert gas atmosphere. In such a manner, a method of fabricating a high-quality silicon single crystal wafer and a silicon single crystal wafer in which no grown-in crystal defects exist in the whole surface and oxygen precipitation bulk micro defects (BMD) are formed at a sufficiently high density to display the IG effect on the inner side can be provided. The single crystal wafer can be suitably used to form an operation region of a semiconductor device.