Patents by Inventor Fumitaka Kume

Fumitaka Kume has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11440804
    Abstract: A clean and high-purity polycrystalline silicon mass having a small content of chromium, iron, nickel, copper, and cobalt in total, which are heavy metal impurities that reduce the quality of single-crystal silicon, can be obtained from a silicon rod by before crushing a polycrystalline silicon rod, removing at least 70 mm of a polycrystalline silicon portion from the electrode side end of the polycrystalline silicon rod extracted to the outside of a reactor is provided. Thereby, the polycrystalline silicon portion in which the total of the chromium, iron, nickel, copper, and cobalt concentrations in a bulk is not less than 150 ppta can be removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Netsu, Junichi Okada, Fumitaka Kume
  • Publication number: 20220146444
    Abstract: A method for measuring a resistivity of a silicon single crystal by a four-point probe method including: a first grinding step of grinding at a surface of the silicon single crystal on which the resistivity is measured; a cleaning step of cleaning the silicon single crystal subjected to the first grinding step; a donor-annihilation heat treatment step of heat-treating the silicon single crystal subjected to the cleaning step; and a second grinding step of grinding at least the surface of the silicon single crystal subjected to the donor-annihilation heat treatment step on which the resistivity is to be measured, where the resistivity of the silicon single crystal is measured by the four-point probe method after performing the second grinding step. This provides a method for measuring a resistivity of a silicon single crystal by which stable measurement is possible over a long period of time after a donor-annihilation heat treatment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2020
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU HANDOTAI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fumitaka KUME, Yukari SUZUKI, Koichi KITAMURA, Masahiro YOSHIDA, Shuji YOKOTA, Koji EBARA
  • Patent number: 10720366
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a resistivity standard sample include the steps, preparing a first-conductivity-type silicon single crystal substrate, measuring a thickness of the silicon single crystal substrate by using a thickness measuring instrument having traceability to the national standard, growing a second-conductivity-type silicon epitaxial layer on the silicon single crystal substrate to fabricate an epitaxial wafer having a p-n junction, measuring a thickness of the epitaxial wafer by using the thickness measuring instrument having the traceability to the national standard, obtaining a thickness of the silicon epitaxial layer from the thicknesses of the epitaxial wafer and the silicon single crystal substrate, and measuring a resistivity of the silicon epitaxial layer by using a resistivity measuring instrument having traceability to a resistivity standard reference material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU HANDOTAI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Fumitaka Kume
  • Publication number: 20190326184
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a resistivity standard sample include the steps, preparing a first-conductivity-type silicon single crystal substrate, measuring a thickness of the silicon single crystal substrate by using a thickness measuring instrument having traceability to the national standard, growing a second-conductivity-type silicon epitaxial layer on the silicon single crystal substrate to fabricate an epitaxial wafer having a p-n junction, measuring a thickness of the epitaxial wafer by using the thickness measuring instrument having the traceability to the national standard, obtaining a thickness of the silicon epitaxial layer from the thicknesses of the epitaxial wafer and the silicon single crystal substrate, and measuring a resistivity of the silicon epitaxial layer by using a resistivity measuring instrument having traceability to a resistivity standard reference material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2017
    Publication date: October 24, 2019
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU HANDOTAI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Fumitaka KUME
  • Patent number: 10366882
    Abstract: The present invention provides a technique by which heat can be efficiently recovered from a coolant used to cool a reactor, and contamination with dopant impurities from an inner wall of a reactor when polycrystalline silicon is deposited within the reactor can be reduced to produce high-purity polycrystalline silicon. With the use of hot water 15 having a temperature higher than a standard boiling point as a coolant fed to the reactor 10, the temperature of the reactor inner wall is kept at a temperature of not more than 370° C. Additionally, the pressure of the hot water 15 to be recovered is reduced by a pressure control section provided in a coolant tank 20 to generate steam. Thereby, a part of the hot water is taken out as steam to the outside, and reused as a heating source for another application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Netsu, Kyoji Oguro, Takaaki Shimizu, Yasushi Kurosawa, Fumitaka Kume
  • Publication number: 20180339908
    Abstract: The present invention provides a clean and high-purity polycrystalline silicon mass having a small content of chromium, iron, nickel, copper, and cobalt in total, which are heavy metal impurities that reduce the quality of single-crystal silicon. In the vicinity of an electrode side end of a polycrystalline silicon rod obtained by the Siemens method, the total of the chromium, iron, nickel, copper, and cobalt concentrations is high. Accordingly, before a crushing step of a polycrystalline silicon rod 100, a removing step of removing at least 70 mm of a polycrystalline silicon portion from the electrode side end of the polycrystalline silicon rod 100 extracted to the outside of a reactor is provided. Thereby, the polycrystalline silicon portion in which the total of the chromium, iron, nickel, copper, and cobalt concentrations in a bulk is not less than 150 ppta can be removed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2018
    Publication date: November 29, 2018
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi NETSU, Junichi OKADA, Fumitaka Kume
  • Patent number: 10073126
    Abstract: Proposed are a C-V characteristic measurement system and a method of measuring C-V characteristics that allow for less change in resistivity with time in repeated measurement of a single crystal silicon wafer using a mercury electrode, as compared to those in the related arts. Measurement is conducted with use of a C-V characteristic measurement system including: a mercury probe 30 for putting mercury as an electrode to contact with a single crystal silicon wafer; an LCR meter 40 for forming a depletion layer by supplying a high-frequency wave to the single crystal silicon wafer via the mercury probe 30 to apply a reverse bias voltage to the single crystal silicon wafer while measuring a capacitance of the depletion layer; analysis software for calculating C-V characteristics based on the reverse bias voltage and the capacitance of the depletion layer; and a static electricity removing device 20 for removing static electricity of the single crystal silicon wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU HANDOTAI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Fumitaka Kume, Hisatoshi Kashino
  • Patent number: 9562289
    Abstract: The upper electrode 31 has a hole 35 extending from an upper surface 33 to a lower surface 34, a bolt 36 is inserted from the upper surface 33 of the upper electrode 31 into the hole 35, and secured in a lower electrode 32 by a screw. A gap 51 between an inside of the hole 35 and a straight body portion of the bolt 36 allows the upper electrode 31 to slide in all directions in a placement surface (upper surface of the lower electrode 32 in contact with the lower surface 34 of the upper electrode 31 in FIG. 2) that is a contact surface with an upper surface of the lower electrode 32, thereby providing an effect of preventing occurrence of a crack or a break in a U rod that can be expanded and contracted in all directions during a vapor phase growth process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Netsu, Shinichi Kurotani, Kyoji Oguro, Fumitaka Kume, Masaru Hirahara
  • Patent number: 9287111
    Abstract: An ozone gas generation processing apparatus that includes a light source of ultraviolet rays and a wafer placement section, generates ozone gas by irradiating ultraviolet rays from the light source in an atmosphere containing oxygen, and processes a wafer on the wafer placement section with the ozone gas, the ozone gas generation processing apparatus comprising a light-blocking plate that allows the generated ozone gas to pass therethrough and blocks the ultraviolet rays between the light source and the wafer placed on the wafer placement section. An ozone gas generation processing apparatus and a method of forming an oxide film silicon film can make an adjustment to make thinner an oxide film formed on a wafer surface, the wafer surface is not damaged by ultraviolet rays when processed, and a method for evaluating a silicon single crystal wafer, obtaining a more stable measurement value of C-V characteristics are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU HANDOTAI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Fumitaka Kume
  • Patent number: 9193596
    Abstract: An inner wall 11 of a reactor 10 has a two-layer structure: an anticorrosive layer 11a comprising an alloy material having high anticorrosiveness is provided on the inner side of the reactor contacting a corrosive process gas, and a heat conductive layer 11b for efficiently conducting the heat within the reactor 10 from an inner wall surface to a coolant flow passage 13 is provided on the outer side of the reactor (outer-wall side). The anticorrosive layer 11a comprises an alloy material having a composition for which a value R, defined by R=[Cr]+[Ni]?1.5 [Si], is not less than 40% wherein [Cr] is a mass content (% by mass) of chromium (Cr), [Ni] is a mass content (% by mass) of nickel (Ni), and [Si] is a mass content (% by mass) of silicon (Si).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Netsu, Kyoji Oguro, Takaaki Shimizu, Yasushi Kurosawa, Fumitaka Kume
  • Publication number: 20150247239
    Abstract: The upper electrode 31 has a hole 35 extending from an upper surface 33 to a lower surface 34, a bolt 36 is inserted from the upper surface 33 of the upper electrode 31 into the hole 35, and secured in a lower electrode 32 by a screw. A gap 51 between an inside of the hole 35 and a straight body portion of the bolt 36 allows the upper electrode 31 to slide in all directions in a placement surface (upper surface of the lower electrode 32 in contact with the lower surface 34 of the upper electrode 31 in FIG. 2) that is a contact surface with an upper surface of the lower electrode 32, thereby providing an effect of preventing occurrence of a crack or a break in a U rod that can be expanded and contracted in all directions during a vapor phase growth process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Publication date: September 3, 2015
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi NETSU, Shinichi Kurotani, Kyoji Oguro, Fumitaka Kume, Masaru Hirahara
  • Publication number: 20150206745
    Abstract: The present invention provides a technique by which heat can be efficiently recovered from a coolant used to cool a reactor, and contamination with dopant impurities from an inner wall of a reactor when polycrystalline silicon is deposited within the reactor can be reduced to produce high-purity polycrystalline silicon. With the use of hot water 15 having a temperature higher than a standard boiling point as a coolant fed to the reactor 10, the temperature of the reactor inner wall is kept at a temperature of not more than 370° C. Additionally, the pressure of the hot water 15 to be recovered is reduced by a pressure control section provided in a coolant tank 20 to generate steam. Thereby, a part of the hot water is taken out as steam to the outside, and reused as a heating source for another application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2015
    Publication date: July 23, 2015
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi NETSU, Kyoji OGURO, Takaaki SHIMIZU, Yasushi KUROSAWA, Fumitaka KUME
  • Patent number: 9017482
    Abstract: The present invention provides a technique by which heat can be efficiently recovered from a coolant used to cool a reactor, and contamination with dopant impurities from an inner wall of a reactor when polycrystalline silicon is deposited within the reactor can be reduced to produce high-purity polycrystalline silicon. With the use of hot water 15 having a temperature higher than a standard boiling point as a coolant fed to the reactor 10, the temperature of the reactor inner wall is kept at a temperature of not more than 370° C. Additionally, the pressure of the hot water 15 to be recovered is reduced by a pressure control section provided in a coolant tank 20 to generate steam. Thereby, a part of the hot water is taken out as steam to the outside, and reused as a heating source for another application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Netsu, Kyoji Oguro, Takaaki Shimizu, Yasushi Kurosawa, Fumitaka Kume
  • Patent number: 9006002
    Abstract: The length of the polycrystalline silicon rod (100) is measured with a tape measure, then the polycrystalline silicon rod (100) is hit with a hammer (120), and this hammering sound is recorded in a recorder (140) through a microphone (130). Then, an acoustic signal of the hammering sound is subjected to a fast Fourier transform and a frequency distribution is displayed. Furthermore, a peak frequency f is detected which shows the largest sound volume in the frequency distribution obtained after the fast Fourier transform. The relationship between the length (L) of the polycrystalline silicon rod and the peak frequency f is obtained, and the firmness of the polycrystalline silicon rod is determined on the basis of whether or not the peak frequency f is in a range of f?1,471/L (region A).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Netsu, Fumitaka Kume, Junichi Okada
  • Patent number: 8963070
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for making it possible to easily and simply measure approximate concentration of substitutional carbon impurities in a desired position in a polycrystalline silicon rod. A polycrystalline silicon plate is sliced out from a polycrystalline silicon rod and both surfaces of the polycrystalline silicon plate are mirror-polished to reduce the polycrystalline silicon plate to thickness of 2.12±0.01 mm. A calibration curve is created according to an infrared absorption spectroscopy and on the basis of a standard measurement method using a single crystal silicon standard sample having known substitutional carbon concentration and thickness of 2.00±0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Junichi Okada, Kouichi Kobayashi, Fumitaka Kume
  • Publication number: 20150025826
    Abstract: Proposed are a C-V characteristic measurement system and a method of measuring C-V characteristics that allow for less change in resistivity with time in repeated measurement of a single crystal silicon wafer using a mercury electrode, as compared to those in the related arts. Measurement is conducted with use of a C-V characteristic measurement system including: a mercury probe 30 for putting mercury as an electrode to contact with a single crystal silicon wafer; an LCR meter 40 for forming a depletion layer by supplying a high-frequency wave to the single crystal silicon wafer via the mercury probe 30 to apply a reverse bias voltage to the single crystal silicon wafer while measuring a capacitance of the depletion layer; analysis software for calculating C-V characteristics based on the reverse bias voltage and the capacitance of the depletion layer; and a static electricity removing device 20 for removing static electricity of the single crystal silicon wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Inventors: Fumitaka Kume, Hisatoshi Kashino
  • Patent number: 8793853
    Abstract: One end side of a core wire holder 20 is formed into a shape of a truncated cone and has an inclined surface. In the end portion, an opening 22 is provided, and a hollow portion 21 is formed, a silicon core wire 5 being inserted into the hollow portion 21 and held therein. On the surface of the silicon core wire 5, polycrystalline silicon 6 is vapor deposited by the Siemens method to produce a polycrystalline silicon rod. On the inclined surface of the truncated cone portion in the vicinity of the opening 22, as a thermal insulating layer, annular slits 23a to 23c are formed from an outer circumferential surface in the vicinity of the opening toward the hollow portion 21. The annular slit acts as a thermal insulating portion, and suppresses escape of the heat to heat the one end side of the core wire holder 20.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Netsu, Shinichi Kurotani, Kyoji Oguro, Fumitaka Kume
  • Publication number: 20140134851
    Abstract: An ozone gas generation processing apparatus that includes a light source of ultraviolet rays and a wafer placement section, generates ozone gas by irradiating ultraviolet rays from the light source in an atmosphere containing oxygen, and processes a wafer on the wafer placement section with the ozone gas, the ozone gas generation processing apparatus comprising a light-blocking plate that allows the generated ozone gas to pass therethrough and blocks the ultraviolet rays between the light source and the wafer placed on the wafer placement section. An ozone gas generation processing apparatus and a method of forming an oxide film silicon film can make an adjustment to make thinner an oxide film formed on a wafer surface, the wafer surface is not damaged by ultraviolet rays when processed, and a method for evaluating a silicon single crystal wafer, obtaining a more stable measurement value of C-V characteristics are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2012
    Publication date: May 15, 2014
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU HANDOTAI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Fumitaka Kume
  • Publication number: 20140021344
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for making it possible to easily and simply measure approximate concentration of substitutional carbon impurities in a desired position in a polycrystalline silicon rod. A polycrystalline silicon plate is sliced out from a polycrystalline silicon rod and both surfaces of the polycrystalline silicon plate are mirror-polished to reduce the polycrystalline silicon plate to thickness of 2.12±0.01 mm. A calibration curve is created according to an infrared absorption spectroscopy and on the basis of a standard measurement method using a single crystal silicon standard sample having known substitutional carbon concentration and thickness of 2.00±0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2012
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Junichi Okada, Kouichi Kobayashi, Fumitaka Kume
  • Publication number: 20130102092
    Abstract: The length of the polycrystalline silicon rod (100) is measured with a tape measure, then the polycrystalline silicon rod (100) is hit with a hammer (120), and this hammering sound is recorded in a recorder (140) through a microphone (130). Then, an acoustic signal of the hammering sound is subjected to a fast Fourier transform and a frequency distribution is displayed. Furthermore, a peak frequency f is detected which shows the largest sound volume in the frequency distribution obtained after the fast Fourier transform. The relationship between the length (L) of the polycrystalline silicon rod and the peak frequency f is obtained, and the firmness of the polycrystalline silicon rod is determined on the basis of whether or not the peak frequency f is in a range of f?1,471/L (region A).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 4, 2011
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Netsu, Fumitaka Kume, Junichi Okada