Patents Examined by Hua Qi
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Patent number: 12371812Abstract: A quartz glass crucible (1) has a structure wherein a peak of a distribution of a total concentration of Na, K, and Ca in a depth direction from an inner surface (10i) of the crucible is present at a position deeper than the inner surface (10i). In an exemplary embodiment, the quartz glass crucible is capable of improving the yield of a silicon single crystal by suppressing peeling-off of brown rings.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2020Date of Patent: July 29, 2025Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATIONInventors: Masami Ohara, Hiroshi Kishi, Eriko Kitahara
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Patent number: 12351937Abstract: Provided is a manufacturing method of a silicon single crystal according to the present invention includes a melting process for generating a silicon melt containing a primary dopant, and a crystal pulling-up process that pulls up a silicon single crystal from the silicon melt. The crystal pulling-up process includes at least one additional doping process for adding a dopant raw material containing a secondary dopant into the silicon melt. A flow rate of Ar gas during a first period in which the secondary dopant is not added is set as a first flow rate, and the flow rate of Ar gas during a second period that includes a period in which the secondary dopant is added is set as a second flow rate that is greater than the first flow rate.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2021Date of Patent: July 8, 2025Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATIONInventors: Shogo Kobayashi, Norihito Fukatsu, Takahiro Kanehara, Hitomi Yamamoto
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Patent number: 12331426Abstract: A wafer suitable for epitaxial growth of gallium nitride (GaN) in a Metal Oxide Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) process. The wafer includes a silicon substrate having a front side and a back side and an edge extending between the front side and the back side, the edge including a front bevel surface connected to the front side and a back bevel surface connected to the back side, wherein the silicon substrate comprises an oxygen denuded silicon layer surrounding a core. The wafer further includes a protection layer being a thermally grown silicon oxide (SiO2) layer substantially covering the front bevel surface and the back bevel surface of the edge, while leaving at least a central region of the front side of the silicon substrate exposed, for preventing meltback during the MOCVD process.Type: GrantFiled: August 25, 2021Date of Patent: June 17, 2025Assignee: X-FAB SEMICONDUCTOR FOUNDRIES GMBHInventors: Victor Sizov, Karl-Heinz Stegemann, Ronny Mueller-Biedermann, Thomas Lindner
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Patent number: 12329032Abstract: Method for manufacturing a thin layer of textured AlN comprising the following successive steps: a) providing a substrate having an amorphous surface, b) forming a polycrystalline nucleation layer of MS2 with M=Mo, W or one of the alloys thereof, on the amorphous surface of the substrate, the polycrystalline nucleation layer consisting of crystalline domains the base planes of which are parallel to the amorphous surface of the substrate, the crystalline domains being oriented randomly in an (a, b) plane formed by the amorphous surface of the substrate, c) depositing aluminum nitride on the nucleation layer, leading to the formation of a thin layer of textured AlN.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2020Date of Patent: June 10, 2025Assignee: COMMISSARIAT À L'ÉNERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ÉNERGIES ALTERNATIVESInventors: Stéphane Cadot, François Martin, Rémy Gassiloud
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Patent number: 12291795Abstract: A susceptor assembly for supporting a crucible during a crystal growth process includes a susceptor base, a tubular sidewall connected to the susceptor base, and a removable sacrifice ring interposed between the susceptor base and the sidewall. Each of the susceptor base and the sidewall is formed of a carbon-containing material. The susceptor base has an annular wall and a shoulder extending radially outward from an outer surface of the annular wall. The sidewall has a first end that receives the annular wall to connect the sidewall to the susceptor base. The sacrifice ring has a first surface that faces the outer surface of the annular wall, a second surface that faces an interior surface of the sidewall, and a ledge extending outward from the second surface that engages the first end of the sidewall.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2022Date of Patent: May 6, 2025Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.Inventors: Hong-Huei Huang, Benjamin Michael Meyer, Chun-Sheng Wu, Wei-Chen Chou, Chen-Yi Lin, Feng-Chien Tsai
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Patent number: 12264409Abstract: A heater assembly is for a single crystal puller. The single crystal puller includes a puller body. A crucible assembly is arranged in the puller body, and a bottom of the crucible assembly is supported by a support structure. The support structure includes a support shaft, and the crucible assembly is driven by the support shaft to rotate. The heater assembly includes a heating part and a conductive part. The heating part covers an outer surface of the crucible assembly, and the heating part is able to rotate synchronously with the crucible assembly. The heating part includes a plurality of connecting electrodes. The conductive part is arranged on the support shaft, and includes a plurality of annular conductive members connected to the plurality of connecting electrodes respectively. External electrodes are connected to the plurality of annular conductive members respectively.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2022Date of Patent: April 1, 2025Assignee: XI'AN ESWIN MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.Inventor: Qinhu Mao
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Patent number: 12252805Abstract: The present disclosure provides a single crystal pulling apparatus Hot-Zone structure, a single crystal pulling apparatus and a crystal ingot. The single crystal pulling apparatus Hot-Zone structure is applied to a single crystal pulling apparatus. The single crystal pulling apparatus includes a puller body and a crucible provided in the center of the puller body. The single crystal pulling apparatus Hot-Zone structure includes: a side heater provided in a periphery of the crucible, and a diversion assembly provided between the side heater and the crucible, and configured to form a gas flow passage with an outer wall of the crucible, to discharge a gas to the outside of the puller body.Type: GrantFiled: May 11, 2021Date of Patent: March 18, 2025Assignees: XI'AN ESWIN MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., XI'AN ESWIN SILICON WAFER TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.Inventors: Qinhu Mao, Bokcheol Sim, Jinkun Kim
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Patent number: 12252803Abstract: A method for producing an n-type monocrystalline silicon that includes 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 exhibits an electrical resistivity ranging from 1.7 m?cm to 2.0 m?cm, and is pulled up using a quartz crucible whose inner diameter ranges from 1.7-fold to 2.0-fold relative to a straight-body diameter of the monocrystalline silicon.Type: GrantFiled: May 25, 2023Date of Patent: March 18, 2025Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATIONInventors: Koichi Maegawa, Yasuhito Narushima, Yasufumi Kawakami, Fukuo Ogawa, Ayumi Kihara
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Patent number: 12252804Abstract: A quartz glass crucible 1 includes: a quartz glass crucible body 10 having a cylindrical side wall portion 10a, a curved bottom portion 10b, and a corner portion 10c which has a larger curvature than that of the bottom portion 10b and connects the side wall portion 10a and the bottom portion 10b to each other; and an inner-surface coating film 13A which contains a crystallization accelerator and is formed on an inner surface 10i of the quartz glass crucible body 10, in which the inner surface 10i of the quartz glass crucible body 10 is under compressive stress. The quartz glass crucible has high durability even at a high temperature during a single crystal pull-up step and is capable of reducing a generation ratio of pinholes in a silicon single crystal.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2022Date of Patent: March 18, 2025Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATIONInventors: Hiroshi Kishi, Kouta Hasebe, Takahiro Abe, Hideki Fujiwara
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Patent number: 12247318Abstract: A SiC single crystal is produced by impregnating a molten alloy of silicon and a metallic element M that increases carbon solubility into a SiC sintered body to form a SiC crucible, placing silicon and M in the crucible and heating the crucible to melt the silicon and M and form a Si—C solution, dissolving silicon and carbon in the solution from surfaces of the crucible in contact with the solution, contacting a SiC seed crystal with the top of the solution to grow a first SiC single crystal on the SiC seed crystal by a solution process, and bulk growing a second SiC single crystal on a face of the solution-grown first SiC single crystal by a sublimation or gas process. This method enables a low-dislocation, high-quality SiC single crystal to be produced by a vapor phase process.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2022Date of Patent: March 11, 2025Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Norio Yamagata, Naofumi Shinya, Yu Hamaguchi, Toshihiro Tsumori, Takehisa Minowa
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Patent number: 12247313Abstract: Disclosed are a Czochralski single crystal furnace for preparing monocrystalline silicon and a method for preparing monocrystalline silicon using the same. The Czochralski single crystal furnace is switchable between a first operation state and a second operation state. In response to the Czochralski single crystal furnace being switched between the first operation state and the second operation state, a first heat-preserving barrel moves relative to a second heat-preserving barrel. In response to the Czochralski single crystal furnace being in the first operation state, a side wall of the second heat-preserving barrel covers a first opening so as to isolate a reaction chamber from outside Czochralski single crystal furnace. In response to the Czochralski single crystal furnace being in the second operation state, the second heat-preserving barrel exposes the first opening, so that the reaction chamber is connected to the outside through the first opening.Type: GrantFiled: December 30, 2021Date of Patent: March 11, 2025Assignees: ZHEJIANG JINKO SOLAR CO., LTD., JINKO SOLAR CO., LTD.Inventors: Ziyang Ou, Xiaolong Bai, Xinyu Zhang
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Patent number: 12227872Abstract: A single-crystal pulling apparatus includes: a pulling furnace having a heater and crucible; and a magnetic field generation device having superconducting coils, the device having four of the superconducting coils, two of the superconducting coils are in each of two regions divided by a cross section that includes an X axis being a direction of magnetic force lines at the central axis in the horizontal plane including all the coil axes of the four superconducting coils, and includes the pulling furnace central axis having line symmetry about the cross section, the four superconducting coils are all arranged so that the coil axes have an angle of more than ?30° and less than 30° relative to a Y axis, the direction of the magnetic force lines thereof have line symmetry about the cross section, and in each of the regions, the two superconducting coils generate magnetic force lines in opposite directions.Type: GrantFiled: March 19, 2020Date of Patent: February 18, 2025Assignee: SHIN-ETSU HANDOTAI CO., LTD.Inventors: Kiyotaka Takano, Wataru Yajima, Kosei Sugawara, Hiroyuki Kamada, Tomohiko Ohta
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Patent number: 12195873Abstract: Crystal pulling system having a housing and a crucible assembly are disclosed. The system includes a heat shield that defines a central passage through which an ingot passes during ingot growth. A cover member is moveable within the heat shield along a pull axis. The cover member may include an insulation layer. The cover member covers at least a portion of the charge during meltdown.Type: GrantFiled: August 6, 2021Date of Patent: January 14, 2025Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.Inventors: Paolo Tosi, Matteo Pannocchia, Roberto Scala
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Patent number: 12195872Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: January 9, 2023Date of Patent: January 14, 2025Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.Inventors: William L. Luter, Hariprasad Sreedharamurthy, Stephan Haringer, Richard J. Phillips, Nan Zhang, Yu-Chiao Wu
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Patent number: 12188145Abstract: The invention discloses a device and a method for continuous VGF crystal growth through reverse injection synthesis, relating to a device for preparing a semiconductor crystal and growing a single crystal, in particular to a method and a device for continuously growing the crystal in situ by using a VGF method and reverse injection synthesis. The device includes a furnace body, a crucible, a heat preservation system, a heating system, a temperature control system and a gas pressure regulation system, wherein the crucible is arranged in the furnace body, has a synthesis unit at its upper part, and has a crystal growth unit and a seed crystal unit at its lower part, and the synthesis unit is communicated with the crystal growth unit through capillary pores.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2018Date of Patent: January 7, 2025Assignee: THE 13TH RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CHINA ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY GROUP CORPORATIONInventors: Shujie Wang, Niefeng Sun, Tongnian Sun, Huisheng Liu, Yanlei Shi, Huimin Shao, Lijie Fu, Jian Jiang, Xiaodan Zhang, Xiaolan Li, Yang Wang
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Patent number: 12173426Abstract: Provided is a raw material supply unit comprising: a main body having a space into which raw material is filled; a barrier for dividing the main body into two or more areas in the longitudinal direction; a rod extending from above the main body into the interior of same; and a valve, connected to the rod, for covering or exposing the lower portion of the main body, wherein the bottom surface of the main body has a step.Type: GrantFiled: February 5, 2020Date of Patent: December 24, 2024Assignee: SK SILTRON CO. LTD.Inventors: Young Jung Lee, Yun Gwang Shin
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Patent number: 12157954Abstract: Crystal pulling system having a housing and a crucible assembly are disclosed. The system includes a heat shield that defines a central passage through which an ingot passes during ingot growth. A cover member is moveable within the heat shield along a pull axis. The cover member may include an insulation layer. The cover member covers at least a portion of the charge during meltdown.Type: GrantFiled: January 4, 2023Date of Patent: December 3, 2024Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.Inventors: Paolo Tosi, Matteo Pannocchia, Roberto Scala
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Patent number: 12146236Abstract: Methods for producing single crystal silicon ingots by Continuous Czochralski (CCz) are disclosed. One or more plates are added to the outer melt zone of a crucible assembly such that the plates are disposed on the initial charge of solid-state silicon. The silicon is melted and the plates float on the silicon melt. When silicon is added to the outer melt zone to replenish the melt during ingot growth, the silicon contacts the plates rather than falling directly into the melt in the outer melt zone. The silicon melts and falls through openings that extend through the thickness of the plates.Type: GrantFiled: June 2, 2022Date of Patent: November 19, 2024Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., LtdInventors: Matteo Pannocchia, Francesca Marchese, Paolo Tosi
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Patent number: 12129185Abstract: Disclosed is an ?-phase nickel hydroxide and a preparation method and use thereof. The method for preparing an ?-phase nickel hydroxide comprises the following steps: subjecting a biomass calcium source to a calcination to obtain a porous calcium oxide; under a protective atmosphere, mixing the porous calcium oxide with a first methanol-ethanol solvent to obtain a calcium oxide heterogeneous solution; under a protective atmosphere, mixing the calcium oxide heterogeneous solution with a nickel source homogeneous solution to obtain a mixture, and subjecting the mixture to a coprecipitation to obtain a nickel calcium hydroxide precursor, wherein the nickel source homogeneous solution is prepared with a nickel source containing crystal water as a solute and a second methanol-ethanol solvent as a solvent; and subjecting the nickel calcium hydroxide precursor to a calcium hydroxide removal treatment to obtain the ?-phase nickel hydroxide.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 2022Date of Patent: October 29, 2024Assignee: Fuzhou UniversityInventors: Yan Yu, Zanyong Zhuang, Linxin Zhou, Bixia Yang
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Patent number: 12123106Abstract: Electromagnetic waves are uniformly distributed on the light-receiving surface side by taking advantage of their property of being easily concentrated in sharp parts, and the front area (SA) on the emission surface side is made larger than the back area (SB) on the light-receiving surface side (SA/SB>1), thereby forming a more moderate electric field region. A reduced gold fine particle group (average particle size: 20 nm) was self-assembled on a transparent polyester resin film and half-submerged and fixed. This base material was repeatedly immersed in an electroless gold plating solution so that gold particles were deposited on the gold fine particles. 10 microliters of a protein solution was added dropwise to this nanostructured substrate, and crystallized by a hanging drop vapor diffusion method.Type: GrantFiled: April 1, 2020Date of Patent: October 22, 2024Assignees: EEJA LTD., NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION GUNMA UNIVERSITYInventors: Tetsuo Okutsu, Masahiro Ito, Akihiro Takura