Patents by Inventor Manabu Nishimoto

Manabu Nishimoto 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: 8460463
    Abstract: A silicon wafer is produced through the steps of forming a silicon ingot by a CZ method with an interstitial oxygen concentration of not more than 7.0×1017 atoms/cm3 and with a diameter of a COP occurring region not more than a diameter of a crystal, slicing a wafer from the silicon ingot after doping the silicon ingot with phosphorus, forming a polysilicon layer or a strained layer on one main surface of the wafer, and mirror polishing the other main surface of the wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Sumco Corporation
    Inventors: Shigeru Umeno, Manabu Nishimoto, Masataka Hourai
  • Publication number: 20100051945
    Abstract: A silicon wafer is produced through the steps of forming a silicon ingot by a CZ method with an interstitial oxygen concentration of not more than 7.0×1017 atoms/cm3 and with a diameter of a COP occurring region not more than a diameter of a crystal, slicing a wafer from the silicon ingot after doping the silicon ingot with phosphorus, forming a polysilicon layer or a strained layer on one main surface of the wafer, and mirror polishing the other main surface of the wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2009
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shigeru Umeno, Manabu Nishimoto, Masataka Hourai
  • Publication number: 20100052103
    Abstract: A silicon wafer is produced through the steps of forming a silicon ingot by a CZ method with an interstitial oxygen concentration of not more than 7.0×1017 atoms/cm3, slicing a wafer from the silicon ingot after doping the silicon ingot with phosphorus, forming a polysilicon layer or a strained layer on one main surface of the wafer, mirror polishing the other main surface of the wafer, and performing a heat treatment for the wafer in a non-oxidizing atmosphere.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2009
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shigeru UMENO, Manabu NISHIMOTO, Masataka HOURAI
  • Publication number: 20100024717
    Abstract: A semiconductor crystal growth method includes pulling a crystal from melt in a crucible at a nominal pull speed and generating a crucible lift signal to compensate reduction in melt level in the crucible. Based on diameter of the crystal, the method includes generating a correction signal and combining the crucible lift signal and the correction signal to keep the crystal diameter substantially constant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2008
    Publication date: February 4, 2010
    Inventors: Benno Orschel, Manabu Nishimoto
  • Patent number: 6767400
    Abstract: In the CZ process using a cooling member surrounding a single crystal, the cooling member is permitted to effectively serve to increase a pulling speed. Cracks of the single crystal due to excessive cooling are prevented to occur. A high crystal quality is acquired. In order to realize these objects, the temperature of the inner peripheral surface of the cooling member 6 opposing to the outer peripheral surface of the single crystal 4 is restricted to 500° C. or below, even in the lower end, the temperature of which becomes the highest. To achieve this restriction, the thickness T of the cooling member 5 is 10 to 50 mm. The height H of the cooling member 6 is 0.1 to 1.5 times the diameter D of the single crystal 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2004
    Assignee: Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corporation
    Inventors: Takayuki Kubo, Fumio Kawahigashi, Hiroshi Asano, Shinichiro Miki, Manabu Nishimoto
  • Patent number: 6702892
    Abstract: An apparatus is provided which is to be used in producing single crystals for silicon wafers useful as semiconductor materials and which can stably produce large-diameter, long-length and high-quality single crystals from which wafers limited in the number of grown-in defects can be taken. This silicon single crystal production apparatus comprises a cooling member surrounding the single crystal to be pulled up and having an internal surface coaxial with the pulling axis and thermal insulating members disposed outside the outer surface and below the bottom surface of the cooling member, the cooling member having an internal surface diameter of 1.20D to 2.50D (D being the diameter of the single crystal to be pulled up) and a length of not less than 0.25D, the distance from the melt surface to the bottom surface of the cooling member being 0.30D to 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiko Okui, Manabu Nishimoto, Takayuki Kubo, Fumio Kawahigashi, Hiroshi Asano
  • Patent number: 6607594
    Abstract: A method for producing a silicon single crystal, the method being capable of suppressing the dislocation of a single crystal. When a silicon single crystal is produced by a Czochralski method in which a horizontal magnetic field or a cusp magnetic field is applied and the single crystal during growth is dislocated, the single crystal with dislocations is dissolved in a nonmagnetic field condition and thereafter a magnetic field is applied again to pull up the silicon single crystal. The flow rate of argon gas is designed to be 100 L/min or more and the pressure in a furnace is designed to be 6700 pa or less when the single crystal with dislocations is dissolved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2003
    Assignee: Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideki Fujiwara, Manabu Nishimoto, Isamu Miyamoto, Hiroshi Morita
  • Publication number: 20030150373
    Abstract: In the CZ process using a cooling member surrounding a single crystal, the cooling member is permitted to effectively serve to increase a pulling speed. Cracks of the single crystal due to excessive cooling are prevented to occur. A high crystal quality is acquired. In order to realize these objects, the temperature of the inner peripheral surface of the cooling member 6 opposing to the outer peripheral surface of the single crystal 4 is restricted to 500° C. or below, even in the lower end, the temperature of which becomes the highest. To achieve this restriction, the thickness T of the cooling member 5 is 10 to 50 mm. The height H of the cooling member 6 is 0.1 to 1.5 times the diameter D of the single crystal 4.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2002
    Publication date: August 14, 2003
    Inventors: Takayuki Kubo, Fumio Kawahigashi, Hiroshi Asano, Shinichiro Miki, Manabu Nishimoto
  • Patent number: 6514335
    Abstract: A method of producing a high-quality silicon single crystal of a large diameter and a long size in a good yield by controlling the positions where ring-like oxygen-induced stacking faults (R-OSF) occur in the crystal faces and minimizing grown-in defects such a dislocation clusters and infrared scattering bodies that are introduced in the pulling step. Wafers produced from the above-high-quality silicon single crystal contain little harmful defects that would deteriorate device characteristics and can be effectively adapted to larger scale integration and size reduction of the devices. Therefore, the method can be extensively utilized in the field of producing semiconductor silicon single crystals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2003
    Assignee: Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Egashira, Masahiko Okui, Manabu Nishimoto, Tadami Tanaka, Shunji Kuragaki, Takayuki Kubo, Shingo Kizaki, Junji Horii, Makoto Ito
  • Publication number: 20020139298
    Abstract: An apparatus is provided which is to be used in producing single crystals for silicon wafers useful as semiconductor materials and which can stably produce large-diameter, long-length and high-quality single crystals from which wafers limited in the number of grown-in defects can be taken. This silicon single crystal production apparatus comprises a cooling member surrounding the single crystal to be pulled up and having an internal surface coaxial with the pulling axis and thermal insulating members disposed outside the outer surface and below the bottom surface of the cooling member, the cooling member having an internal surface diameter of 1.20D to 2.50D (D being the diameter of the single crystal to be pulled up) and a length of not less than 0.25D, the distance from the melt surface to the bottom surface of the cooling member being 0.30D to 0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Inventors: Masahiko Okui, Manabu Nishimoto, Takayuki Kubo, Fumio Kawahigashi, Hiroshi Asano
  • Publication number: 20020129759
    Abstract: A method for producing a silicon single crystal, the method being capable of suppressing the dislocation of a single crystal. When a silicon single crystal is produced by a Czochralski method in which a horizontal magnetic field or a cusp magnetic field is applied and the single crystal during growth is dislocated, the single crystal with dislocations is dissolved in a nonmagnetic field condition and thereafter a magnetic field is applied again to pull up the silicon single crystal. The flow rate of argon gas is designed to be 100 L/min or more and the pressure in a furnace is designed to be 6700 pa or less when the single crystal with dislocations is dissolved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2001
    Publication date: September 19, 2002
    Inventors: Hideki Fujiwara, Manabu Nishimoto, Isamu Miyamoto, Hiroshi Morita
  • Patent number: 6338757
    Abstract: The present invention was achieved in order to provide an apparatus for pulling a single crystal with which a single crystal having a low density of grown-in defects called infrared scatterers, dislocation clusters or the like can be grown. In the apparatus for pulling a single crystal having a crucible to be charged with a melt, a heater arranged around the crucible, a straightening vane in the shape of a side surface of an inverted truncated cone or a cylinder surrounding a pulled single crystal and a heat shield plate for inhibiting the radiant heat from diverging upward in the chamber from the side surface of the pulled single crystal located in the vicinity of the melt surface are arranged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2002
    Assignee: Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Manabu Nishimoto, Masahiko Okui, Takayuki Kubo, Shingo Kizaki, Junji Horii
  • Patent number: 5156807
    Abstract: The machinability of titanium or a titanium alloy is improved without adversely affecting the hot workability and fatigue strength or corrosion resistance by addition of P: 0.01-1.0% along with one or both of S: 0.01-1.0% and Ni: 0.01-2.0%, or along with S: 0.01-1.0%, Ni: 0.01-2.0%, and REM: 0.01-5.0%, on a weight basis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1992
    Assignee: Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuo Nagata, Wataru Takahashi, Manabu Nishimoto, Shiroh Kitayama, Yoshihito Sugimoto