Patents Examined by Hua Qi
  • Patent number: 11319645
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses a method for growing a crystal in oxygen atmosphere. The method may include compensating a weight of a reactant, introducing a flowing gas, improving a volume ratio of oxygen during a cooling process, providing a heater in a temperature field, and optimizing parameters. According to the method, problems may be solved, for example, cracking and component deviation of the crystal during a crystal growth process, and without oxygen-free vacancy. The method for growing the crystal may have excellent repeatability and crystal performance consistency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: MEISHAN BOYA ADVANCED MATERIALS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yu Wang, Weiming Guan, Min Li
  • Patent number: 11313049
    Abstract: A crystal pulling system for growing a monocrystalline ingot from a melt of semiconductor or solar-grade material includes a crucible for containing the melt of material, a pulling mechanism configured to pull the ingot from the melt along a pull axis, and a multi-stage heat exchanger defining a central passage for receiving the ingot as the ingot is pulled by the pulling mechanism. The heat exchanger defines a plurality of cooling zones arranged vertically along the pull axis of the crystal pulling system. The plurality of cooling zones includes two enhanced-rate cooling zones and a reduced-rate cooling zone disposed vertically between the two enhanced-rate cooling zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Soubir Basak, Gaurab Samanta, Parthiv Daggolu, Benjamin Michael Meyer, William L. Luter, Jae Woo Ryu, Eric Michael Gitlin
  • Patent number: 11306412
    Abstract: A SiC single crystal manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is a SiC single crystal manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a SiC single crystal by performing crystal growth on a growth surface of a seed crystal disposed inside a crucible, and the crucible 1 is able to accommodate a raw material M for a SiC single crystal therein, and includes a crucible lower portion 1A and a crucible upper portion 1B, the crucible lower portion including a bottom portion 1Aa and a side portion 1Ab, and the crucible upper portion including a top portion 1Ba provided with a seed crystal installation portion 1Bc for installing a seed crystal SD and a side portion 1Bb.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: SHOWA DENKO K.K.
    Inventor: Yohei Fujikawa
  • Patent number: 11299819
    Abstract: A crystal pulling apparatus for producing an ingot is provided. The apparatus includes a furnace and a gas doping system. The furnace includes a crucible for holding a melt. The gas doping system includes a feeding tube, an evaporation receptacle, and a fluid flow restrictor. The feeding tube is positioned within the furnace, and includes at least one feeding tube sidewall, a first end through which a solid dopant is introduced into the feeding tube, and an opening opposite the first end through which a gaseous dopant is introduced into the furnace. The evaporation receptacle is configured to vaporize the dopant therein, and is disposed near the opening of the feeding tube. The fluid flow restrictor is configured to permit the passage of solid dopant therethrough and restrict the flow of gaseous dopant therethrough, and is disposed within the feeding tube between the first end and the evaporation receptacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Stephan Haringer, Roberto Scala, Marco D'Angella
  • Patent number: 11242618
    Abstract: A silicon carbide substrate capable of stably forming a device of excellent performance, and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. A silicon carbide substrate is made of a single crystal of silicon carbide, and has a width of not less than 100 mm, a micropipe density of not more than 7 cm?2, a threading screw dislocation density of not more than 1×104 cm?2, a threading edge dislocation density of not more than 1×104 cm?2, a basal plane dislocation density of not more than 1×104 cm?2, a stacking fault density of not more than 0.1 cm?1, a conductive impurity concentration of not less than 1×1018 cm?3, a residual impurity concentration of not more than 1×1016 cm?3, and a secondary phase inclusion density of not more than 1 cm?3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shin Harada, Shinsuke Fujiwara, Taro Nishiguchi
  • Patent number: 11236439
    Abstract: A method for producing a GaN crystal is provided. In the method, front surfaces of a plurality of tiling GaN seeds closely arranged side by side on a flat surface of a plate are planarized. An aggregated seed is formed by arranging the tiling GaN seeds closely side by side on a susceptor of an HVPE apparatus in the same arrangement as when fixed on the plate, with the front planarized surfaces facing upward. A bulk GaN crystal is grown epitaxially on the aggregated seed by an HVPE method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yusuke Tsukada, Masayuki Tashiro, Hideo Namita
  • Patent number: 11208718
    Abstract: An epitaxial growth device includes; a chamber; a susceptor; a supporting shaft, having a main column located coaxially with the center of the susceptor and supporting arms; and a lift pin, at least the surface layer region of the lift pin is made of a material having a hardness lower than the susceptor, the lift pin has a straight trunk part upper region configured to pass through the through-hole of the susceptor and having a surface roughness of from not less than 0.1 ?m to not more than 0.3 ?m, and the lift pin has a straight trunk part lower region configured to pass through the through-hole of the supporting arm and having a surface roughness of from not less than 1 ?m to not more than 10 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masaya Sakurai
  • Patent number: 11168394
    Abstract: Techniques for controlling a solid precursor vapor source are provided. An example method disclosure includes providing a carrier gas to a precursor material in a sublimation vessel, such that the sublimation vessel includes an inlet area and an outlet area configured to enable the carrier gas to flow through the precursor material, and at least one thermal device configured to add or remove heat from the sublimation vessel, determining a sublimation temperature value and a delta temperature value based on the precursor material and the carrier gas, setting a first temperature in the sublimation vessel based on the sublimation temperature value and the delta temperature value, such that the first temperature is measured proximate to the inlet area, and setting a second temperature in the sublimation vessel based on the sublimation temperature value, such that the second temperature is measured proximate to the outlet area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: CeeVeeTech, LLC
    Inventor: Egbert G. Woelk
  • Patent number: 11162186
    Abstract: In an exemplary embodiment, a quartz glass crucible 1 includes: a cylindrical crucible body 10 which has a bottom and is made of quartz glass; and a first crystallization-accelerator-containing coating film 13A which is formed on an inner surface 10a so as to cause an inner crystal layer composed of an aggregate of dome-shaped or columnar crystal grains to be formed on a surface-layer portion of the inner surface 10a of the crucible body 10 by heating during a step of pulling up the silicon single crystal by a Czochralski method. The quartz glass crucible is capable of withstanding a single crystal pull-up step undertaken for a very long period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kishi, Kouta Hasebe, Takahiro Abe, Hideki Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 11149359
    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: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: II-VI DELAWARE, INC.
    Inventors: Avinash Gupta, Ilya Zwieback, Edward Semenas, Marcus Getkin, Patrick Flynn
  • Patent number: 11131038
    Abstract: An apparatus for physical vapor transport growth of semiconductor crystals having a cylindrical vacuum enclosure defining an axis of symmetry; a reaction-cell support for supporting a reaction cell inside the vacuum enclosure; a cylindrical reaction cell made of material that is transparent to RF energy and having a height Hcell defined along the axis of symmetry; an RF coil provided around exterior of the vacuum enclosure and axially centered about the axis of symmetry, wherein the RF coil is configured to generate a uniform RF field along at least the height Hcell; and, an insulation configured for generating thermal gradient inside the reaction cell along the axis of symmetry. The ratio of height of the RF induction coil, measured along the axis of symmetry, to the height Hcell may range from 2.5 to 4.0 or from 2.8 to 4.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: SK SILTRON CSS, LLC
    Inventor: Mark Loboda
  • Patent number: 11118285
    Abstract: Provided is a method of evaluating cleanliness of a member having a silicon carbide surface, the method including bringing the silicon carbide surface into contact with a mixed acid of hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid; concentrating the mixed acid brought into contact with the silicon carbide surface by heating; subjecting a sample solution obtained by diluting a concentrated liquid obtained by the concentration to quantitative analysis of metal components by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry; and evaluating cleanliness of the member having a silicon carbide surface on the basis of a quantitative result of metal components obtained by the quantitative analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Muramatsu, Hirokazu Kato
  • Patent number: 11104995
    Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate processing apparatus capable of improving the characteristic of a film formed on the surface of a wafer, using a single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus which heats and processes a wafer. The substrate processing apparatus may include: a processing vessel where a substrate is processed; a substrate supporter including: a first heater configured to heat the substrate to a first temperature; and a substrate placing surface where the substrate is placed; a heated gas supply system including a second heater configured to heat an inert gas, wherein the heated gas supply system is configured to supply a heated inert gas into the processing vessel; and a controller configured to control the first heater and the second heater such that a temperature of a front surface of the substrate and a temperature of a back surface of the substrate are in a predetermined range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Kokusai Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Yahata, Satoshi Takano, Kazuyuki Toyoda, Naofumi Ohashi, Tadashi Takasaki
  • Patent number: 11101428
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a monocrystalline layer, comprises the following successive steps: providing a donor substrate comprising a piezoelectric material of composition ABO3, where A consists of at least one element from among Li, Na, K, H, Ca; and B consists of at least one element from among Nb, Ta, Sb, V; providing a receiver substrate, transferring a layer called the “seed layer” from the donor substrate on to the receiver substrate, such that the seed layer is at the bonding interface, followed by thinning of the donor substrate layer; and growing a monocrystalline layer of composition A?B?O3 on piezoelectric material ABO3 of the seed layer where A? consists of a least one of the following elements Li, Na, K, H; B? consists of a least one of the following elements Nb, Ta, Sb, V; and A? is different from A or B? is different from B.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: SOITEC
    Inventors: Bruno Ghyselen, Jean-Marc Bethoux
  • Patent number: 11101141
    Abstract: A method for reducing defects of an electronic component using a supercritical fluid includes recrystallizing and rearranging grains in the electronic component by introducing the supercritical fluid doped with H2S together with an electromagnetic wave into a cavity. The cavity has a temperature above a critical temperature of the supercritical fluid and a pressure above a critical pressure of the supercritical fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: NATIONAL SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY KZ
    Inventors: Ting-Chang Chang, Kuan-Chang Chang, Chih-Cheng Shih, Chih-Hung Pan
  • Patent number: 11078597
    Abstract: A method for making an epitaxial structure includes the following steps. A substrate having an epitaxial growth surface is provided. A carbon nanotube layer is placed on the epitaxial growth surface. A buffer layer is formed on the epitaxial growth surface. A first epitaxial layer is epitaxially grown on the buffer layer. The substrate and the buffer layer are separated to form a second epitaxial growth surface. A second epitaxial layer is epitaxially grown on the second epitaxial growth surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignees: Tsinghua University, HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yang Wei, Shou-Shan Fan
  • Patent number: 11072870
    Abstract: A crystal pulling system for growing a monocrystalline ingot from a melt of semiconductor or solar-grade material includes a crucible for containing the melt of material, a pulling mechanism configured to pull the ingot from the melt along a pull axis, and a multi-stage heat exchanger defining a central passage for receiving the ingot as the ingot is pulled by the pulling mechanism. The heat exchanger defines a plurality of cooling zones arranged vertically along the pull axis of the crystal pulling system. The plurality of cooling zones includes two enhanced-rate cooling zones and a reduced-rate cooling zone disposed vertically between the two enhanced-rate cooling zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Soubir Basak, Gaurab Samanta, Parthiv Daggolu, Benjamin Michael Meyer, William L. Luter, Jae Woo Ryu, Eric Michael Gitlin
  • Patent number: 11060202
    Abstract: Single crystal semiconductor ingots are pulled from a melt contained in a crucible by a method of controlling the pulling the single crystal in a phase in which an initial cone of the single crystal is grown until a phase in which the pulling of a cylindrical section of the single crystal is begun, by measuring the diameter Dcr of the initial cone of the single crystal and calculating the change in the diameter dDcr/dt; pulling the initial cone of the single crystal from the melt at a pulling rate vp(t) from a point in time t1 until a point in time t2, starting from which the pulling of the cylindrical section of the single crystal in conjunction with a target diameter Dcrs is begun, wherein the profile of the pulling rate vp(t) from the point in time t1 until the point in time t2 during the pulling of the initial cone is predetermined by means of an iterative computation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Thomas Schroeck, Walter Heuwieser
  • Patent number: 11035054
    Abstract: In an apparatus and method growing a SiC single crystal, a PVT growth apparatus is provided with a single crystal SiC seed and a SiC source material positioned in spaced relation in a growth crucible. A resistance heater heats the growth crucible such that the SiC source material sublimates and is transported via a temperature gradient that forms in the growth crucible in response to the heater heating the growth crucible to the single crystal SiC seed where the sublimated SiC source material condenses forming a growing SiC single crystal. Purely axial heat fluxes passing through the bottom and the top of the growth crucible form a flat isotherm at least at a growth interface of the growing SiC single crystal on the single crystal SiC seed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: II-VI DELAWARE, INC.
    Inventors: Xueping Xu, Ilya Zwieback, Avinash K. Gupta, Varatharajan Rengarajan
  • Patent number: 11028497
    Abstract: A single crystal production apparatus that is designed to produce a single crystal by cooling a melting zone formed by a heating part including an infrared generation part and a reflection part, wherein: the reflection part includes a spheroidal mirror and a concave spherical mirror; the infrared generation part is disposed at one focal point of the spheroidal mirror; an opening is formed in the spheroidal mirror on the side of the other focal point of the spheroidal mirror; and the one focal point and the spherical center of the concave spherical mirror fall on the same location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Inventor: Shin Akutsu