Patents Examined by Matthew J Song
  • Patent number: 11408090
    Abstract: A method for growing a single crystal silicon ingot by the continuous Czochralski method is disclosed. The melt depth and thermal conditions are constant during growth because the silicon melt is continuously replenished as it is consumed, and the crucible location is fixed. The critical v/G is determined by the hot zone configuration, and the continuous replenishment of silicon to the melt during growth enables growth of the ingot at a constant pull rate consistent with the critical v/G during growth of a substantial portion of the main body of the ingot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Carissima Marie Hudson, JaeWoo Ryu
  • Patent number: 11401626
    Abstract: A seeding method for crystal growth comprising: a first seeding step: rotating a crucible with a first rotation speed to grow the crystal to a first length; a second seeding step: gradually increasing the rotation speed of the crucible from the first rotation speed to a second rotation speed, and growing the crystal to a second length; a third seeding step: rotating the crucible with the second rotation speed to growing the crystal to a predicted length. By separating the seeding stage to three steps and gradually increasing the rotation speed in the second step of the crucible, the silicon melt convection is enhanced and the temperature at center of the silicon melt is kept to be not lower than the starting temperature of the seeding. Thereby, the removal of dislocation within the seed crystal can be increased, and the growth problems such as broken or polycrystallization can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Zing Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Weimin Shen, Youshu Lei
  • Patent number: 11390963
    Abstract: A method of performing heteroepitaxy comprises exposing a substrate to a carrier gas, a first precursor gas, a Group II/III element, and a second precursor gas, to form a heteroepitaxial growth of one of GaAs, AlAs, InAs, GaP, InP, ZnSe, GaSe, CdSe, InSe, ZnTe, CdTe, GaTe, HgTe, GaSb, InSb, AlSb, CdS, GaN, and AlN on the substrate; wherein the substrate comprises one of GaAs, AlAs, InAs, GaP, InP, ZnSe, GaSe, CdSe, InSe, ZnTe, CdTe, GaTe, HgTe, GaSb, InSb, AlSb, CdS, GaN, and AlN; wherein the carrier gas is H2, wherein the first precursor is HCl, the Group II/III element comprises at least one of Zn, Cd, Hg, Al, Ga, and In; and wherein the second precursor is one of AsH3 (arsine), PH3 (phosphine), H2Se (hydrogen selenide), H2Te (hydrogen telluride), SbH3 (hydrogen antimonide), H2S (hydrogen sulfide), and NH3 (ammonia). The process may be an HVPE (hydride vapor phase epitaxy) process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventor: Vladimir Tassev
  • Patent number: 11390962
    Abstract: Single crystal silicon with <100> orientation is doped with n-type dopant and comprises a starting cone, a cylindrical portion and an end cone, a crystal angle being not less than 20° and not greater than 30° in a middle portion of the starting cone, the length of which is not less than 50% of a length of the starting cone, and edge facets extending from a periphery of the single crystal into the single crystal, the edge facets in the starting cone and in the cylindrical portion of the single crystal in each case having a length which is not more than 700 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Georg Raming, Ludwig Stockmeier, Jochen Friedrich, Matthias Daniel, Alfred Miller
  • Patent number: 11384448
    Abstract: A method of performing heteroepitaxy comprises exposing a substrate to a carrier gas, a first precursor gas, a Group II/III element, and a second precursor gas, to form a heteroepitaxial growth of one of GaAs, AlAs, InAs, GaP, InP, ZnSe, GaSe, CdSe, InSe, ZnTe, CdTe, GaTe, HgTe, GaSb, InSb, AlSb, CdS, GaN, and AlN on the substrate; wherein the substrate comprises one of GaAs, AlAs, InAs, GaP, InP, ZnSe, GaSe, CdSe, InSe, ZnTe, CdTe, GaTe, HgTe, GaSb, InSb, AlSb, CdS, GaN, and AlN; wherein the carrier gas is H2, wherein the first precursor is HCl, the Group II/III element comprises at least one of Zn, Cd, Hg, Al, Ga, and In; and wherein the second precursor is one of AsH3 (arsine), PH3 (phosphine), H2Se (hydrogen selenide), H2Te (hydrogen telluride), SbH3 (hydrogen antimonide), H2S (hydrogen sulfide), and NH3 (ammonia). The process may be an HVPE (hydride vapor phase epitaxy) process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventor: Vladimir Tassev
  • Patent number: 11384451
    Abstract: The invention relates to a crucible for crystal growth and a method for releasing thermal stress of silicon carbide crystals. The crucible is a crucible in contact with the side surface of the prepared crystals, and the crucible has an annular non-closed splicing structure. The crucible for the crystal growth has the annular non-closed splicing structure, so that the crystals can be prevented from being hooped, hot stress concentrated in the crystals in the growth process of the crystals can be effectively released, the fracturing rate of the crystals can be reduced, and the finished product rate of the crystals can be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: ANHUI WEIXIN CHANGJIANG SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Pan Gao, Jun Xin, Haikuan Kong, Xuechao Liu, Yanqing Zheng, Erwei Shi
  • Patent number: 11377757
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a group III nitride crystal in which generation of breaking or cracks is less likely to occur. To achieve the object, the method for producing a group III nitride crystal includes: seed crystal preparation including disposing a plurality of crystals of a group III nitride as a plurality of seed crystals on a substrate; and crystal growth including growing group III nitride crystals by contacting a surface of each of the seed crystals with a melt containing at least one group III element selected from gallium, aluminum, and indium and an alkali metal in an atmosphere containing nitrogen. In the seed crystal preparation, the plurality of seed crystals are disposed within a hexagonal region provided on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignees: PANASONIC HOLDINGS CORPORATION, OSAKA UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Yoshio Okayama, Shinsuke Komatsu, Masahiro Tada, Yusuke Mori, Masayuki Imanishi, Masashi Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 11359307
    Abstract: In a state in which a SiC container (3) of a material including polycrystalline SiC is housed in a TaC container (2) of a material including TaC and in which an underlying substrate (40) is housed in the SiC container (3), the TaC container (2) is heated in an environment where a temperature gradient occurs in such a manner that inside of the TaC container (2) is at a Si vapor pressure. Consequently, C atoms sublimated by etching of the inner surface of the SiC container (3) are bonded to Si atoms in an atmosphere so that an epitaxial layer (41) of single crystalline 3C-SiC thereby grows on the underlying substrate (40).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignees: KWANSEI GAKUIN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, TOYOTA TSUSHO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tadaaki Kaneko, Yasunori Kutsuma, Koji Ashida, Ryo Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 11359305
    Abstract: An experimental method for validating a thermal history of a semiconductor ingot obtained by simulation of a crystallization process, includes a) measuring the concentration of interstitial oxygen in a portion of the semiconductor ingot; b) calculating a theoretical value of the concentration of thermal donors formed during the crystallization process, from the measurement of the concentration of interstitial oxygen and from the thermal history in the portion of the semiconductor ingot; c) measuring an experimental value of the concentration of thermal donors in the portion of the semiconductor ingot; and d) comparing the theoretical and experimental values of the concentration of thermal donors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
    Inventors: Jordi Veirman, Wilfried Favre, Elénore Letty
  • Patent number: 11339498
    Abstract: A method in which a carbonaceous protective film is formed on a rear surface of a single crystal SiC seed, the seed is placed in a reaction container without adhesion, and then single crystal SiC is grown from a SiC raw material on a front surface of the seed allows the seed to grow to a single crystal ingot having a large diameter since the absence of adhesion of the seed to a holder prevents the generation of warps or cracks attributed to a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the seed and the holder during heating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Senic Inc.
    Inventors: Jung Woo Choi, Kap-Ryeol Ku, Jung-Gyu Kim
  • Patent number: 11339499
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for 2D epitaxial growth comprising: forming a single crystalline h-BN template; forming a plurality of nuclei by depositing a heterogeneous precursor on the h-BN template; and forming a heterogeneous structure layer by growing the plurality of deposited nuclei with a van der Waals epitaxial growth, wherein the heterogeneous structure layer is a single crystal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: KOREA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Soo Min Kim, Joo Song Lee, Hayoung Ko, Hye Young Koo
  • Patent number: 11332847
    Abstract: The present invention relates to solvothermal vapor synthesis methods for the crystallization of a phase from a mixture of selected inorganic or organic precursors in an unsaturated vapor-phase reaction medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
    Inventors: Richard E. Riman, Daniel Kopp
  • Patent number: 11280026
    Abstract: A semiconductor wafer made of single-crystal silicon has an oxygen concentration (new ASTM) of not less than 4.9×1017 atoms/cm3 and not more than 6.5×107 atoms/cm3 and a nitrogen concentration (new ASTM) of not less than 8×1012 atoms/cm3 and not more than 5×1013 atoms/cm3, wherein a frontside of the semiconductor wafer is covered with an epitaxial layer made of silicon, wherein the semiconductor wafer comprises BMDs of octahedral shape whose mean size is 13 to 35 nm, and whose mean density is not less than 3×108 cm?3 and not more than 4×109 cm?3, as determined by IR tomography.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Timo Mueller, Andreas Sattler, Robert Kretschmer, Gudrun Kissinger, Dawid Kot
  • Patent number: 11261540
    Abstract: A method of controlling a convection pattern of a silicon melt includes applying a horizontal magnetic field having an intensity of 0.2 tesla or more to the silicon melt in a rotating quartz crucible to fix a direction of a convection flow in a plane orthogonal to an application direction of the horizontal magnetic field in the silicon melt, the horizontal magnetic field being applied so that a central magnetic field line passes through a point horizontally offset from a center axis of the quartz crucible by 10 mm or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoki Matsushima, Ryusuke Yokoyama, Hideki Sakamoto, Wataru Sugimura
  • Patent number: 11255024
    Abstract: A roller guide assembly for use in lifting a seed coupled to a cable includes a mounting plate, a shaft, and a roller guide. The mounting plate has a throughhole. The shaft is coupled to the mounting plate such that the shaft is movable relative to the mounting plate in a direction that is generally perpendicular to a central axis of the shaft. The roller guide is rotationally coupled about the shaft and generally positioned within the throughhole of the mounting plate such that at least a portion of the roller guide extends out of the throughhole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Linton Crystal Technologies Corp.
    Inventors: John A. Reese, Joel C. Stefl
  • Patent number: 11255023
    Abstract: An embodiment provides a silicon supply part including: a silicon supply chamber; a holder provided on an inner wall of a lower region of the silicon supply chamber; a tube elevating vertically by a first cable inside the silicon supply chamber; a guide provided outside the tube and overlapped with the holder vertically; and a stopper elevating vertically by a second cable and inserted into a lower portion of the tube to open and close the lower portion of the tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: SK SILTRON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jung Hyun Kong, Seong Hun Yun, Ho Jun Lee
  • Patent number: 11248312
    Abstract: An apparatus for growing a crystal includes a growth chamber and a melt chamber thermally isolated from the growth chamber. The growth chamber includes: a growth crucible configured to contain a liquid melt; and a die located in the growth crucible, the die having a die opening and one or more capillaries extending from within the growth crucible toward the die opening. The melt chamber includes: a melt crucible configured to receive feedstock material; and at least one heating element positioned within the melt chamber relative to the melt crucible to melt the feedstock material within the melt crucible to form the liquid melt. The apparatus also includes at least one capillary conveyor in fluid communication with the melt crucible and the growth crucible to transport the liquid melt from the melt crucible to the growth crucible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: II-VI DELAWARE, INC.
    Inventor: Nathan Stoddard
  • Patent number: 11242615
    Abstract: The invention provides a growth method for preparing high-yield crystals, belongs to the technical field of single crystal growth. Auxiliary crucibles are arranged on a crucible according to different crystal types and according to the crystal orientation of crystal growth in the main crucible, the relationship between the crystal growth direction and twin crystal orientation. By controlling the angle between the auxiliary crucibles and the main crucible, the relative position between the auxiliary crucibles each other, the auxiliary crucibles realize correction on the crystal orientation of twins generated in the main crucible crystal growth process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: THE 13TH RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CHINA ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY GROUP CORPORATION
    Inventors: Niefeng Sun, Shujie Wang, Tongnian Sun, Huisheng Liu, Huimin Shao, Yanlei Shi
  • Patent number: 11242617
    Abstract: A silicon single crystal production method includes pulling up and growing a silicon single crystal from silicon melt containing red phosphorus as a dopant by Czochralski process. The silicon single crystal is intended for a 200-mm-diameter wafer. The silicon single crystal includes a straight body with a diameter in a range from 201 mm to 230 mm. The straight body includes a straight-body start portion with an electrical resistivity in a range from 0.8 m?cm to 1.2 m?cm. A crystal rotation speed of the silicon single crystal is controlled to fall within a range from 17 rpm to 40 rpm for at least part of a shoulder-formation step for the silicon single crystal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koichi Maegawa, Yasuhito Narushima, Yasufumi Kawakami, Fukuo Ogawa
  • Patent number: 11225731
    Abstract: Reducing the microvoid (MV) density in AlN ameliorates numerous problems related to cracking during crystal growth, etch pit generation during the polishing, reduction of the optical transparency in an AlN wafer, and, possibly, growth pit formation during epitaxial growth of AlN and/or AlGaN. This facilitates practical crystal production strategies and the formation of large, bulk AlN crystals with low defect densities—e.g., a dislocation density below 104 cm?2 and an inclusion density below 104 cm?3 and/or a MV density below 104 cm?3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: CRYSTAL IS, INC.
    Inventors: Robert Bondokov, Kenneth E. Morgan, Glen A. Slack, Leo J. Schowalter