Using A Sectioned Crucible Or Providing Replenishment Of Precursor Patents (Class 117/18)
  • Patent number: 11078594
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for single crystalline metal foil including: thermally treating poly-crystalline metal foil positioned to be spaced apart from a base to manufacture single crystalline metal foil, and a single crystalline metal foil manufactured thereby. According to the present invention, single crystalline metal foil having a large area may be obtained by thermally treating the poly-crystalline metal foil under a condition at which stress applied to the poly-crystalline metal foil is minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignees: INSTITUTE FOR BASIC SCIENCE, UNIST(ULSAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)
    Inventors: Rodney S. Ruoff, Sunghwan Jin
  • Patent number: 10006145
    Abstract: A doping system for introducing liquid dopant into a melt of semiconductor or solar-grade material includes a dopant reservoir for holding dopant and a feeding tube. The dopant reservoir includes a body and a tapered end defining an opening having a smaller cross-sectional area than a cross-sectional area of the body. The feeding tube includes a first end extending from the opening of the reservoir, a second end distal from the first end, an angled tip disposed at the second end of the feeding tube, a first restriction for inhibiting the passage of solid dopant through the feeding tube, and a second restriction for controlling the flow of liquid dopant, the second restriction disposed near the second end of the feeding tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Corner Star Limited
    Inventors: Stephan Haringer, Armando Giannattasio, Roberto Scala, Luigi Bonanno, Valentino Moser
  • Patent number: 9410266
    Abstract: An apparatus and continuous stable process for producing multicrystalline silicon ingots with large cross-sections by an induction method, by maintaining surface temperature of the ingot at the output of the crucible within the range of 900-1150° C., and by heating the ingot at the output of the upper zone of the controlled cooling compartment to a temperature of 1200-1250° C., followed by cooling of the ingot at a rate of no more than 10° C./cm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: SoLin Development B.V.
    Inventors: Sergii Beringov, Volodymyr Onischenko, Anatoliy Shkulkov, Yurii Cherpak, Sergii Pozigun, Stepan Marchenko, Andrii Shevchuk
  • Patent number: 9284661
    Abstract: A process for the production of multicrystalline silicon ingots by the induction method comprises charging a silicon raw material into the melting chamber of a cooled crucible enveloped by an inductor, forming a melt surface, and melting, wherein the mass rate of charging the silicon raw material and the speed of pulling the ingot are set such that provide for the melt surface position below the upper plane of the inductor but not lower than ? of the height thereof and the melt surface is kept at the same level. In doing this the melt surface position is kept at the same level by maintaining one of the output parameters of the inductor feed within a predetermined range. The process provides for casting multicrystalline silicon ingots suitable for solar cell fabrication and it is notable for higher efficiency and lower specific energy consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Solin Development B.V.
    Inventors: Sergii Beringov, Volodymyr Onischenko, Anatoly Shkulkov, Yuriy Cherpak, Sergii Pozigun, Stepan Marchenko, Andrii Shevchuk
  • Patent number: 9105782
    Abstract: Provided are solar cells, photovoltaics and related methods for making solar cells, wherein the solar cell is made of ultrathin solar grade or low quality silicon. In an aspect, the invention is a method of making a solar cell by providing a solar cell substrate having a receiving surface and assembling a printable semiconductor element on the receiving surface of the substrate via contact printing. The semiconductor element has a thickness that is less than or equal to 100 ?m and, for example, is made from low grade Si.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
    Inventors: John A. Rogers, Angus A. Rockett, Ralph Nuzzo, Jongseung Yoon, Alfred Baca
  • Patent number: 8840722
    Abstract: Implementations and techniques for producing graphene are generally disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC
    Inventor: James Pierre Hauck
  • Patent number: 8834627
    Abstract: Silicon single crystals are grown by a method of remelting silicon granules, by crystallizing a conically extended section of the single crystal with the aid of an induction heating coil arranged below a rotating plate composed of silicon; feeding inductively melted silicon through a conical tube in the plate, the tube enclosing a central opening of the plate and extending below the plate, to a melt situated on the conically extended section of the single crystal in contact with a tube end of the conical tube, wherein by means of the induction heating coil below the plate, sufficient energy is provided to ensure that the external diameter of the tube end is not smaller than 15 mm as long as the conically extended section of the single crystal has a diameter of 15 to 30 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Wilfried von Ammon, Ludwig Altmannshofer, Martin Wasner
  • Patent number: 8715415
    Abstract: Provided is a vitreous silica crucible for pulling silicon single crystals, which can melt a silicon raw material in a short time and improve production yield of silicon single crystals by temporal change of an opaque vitreous silica layer. The vitreous silica crucible includes an opaque vitreous silica layer(11) provided on an outer surface thereof and containing plural bubbles, and a transparent vitreous silica layer(12) provided on an inner surface and not containing bubbles substantially. The opaque vitreous silica layer(11) has a bubble diameter distribution in which the content of bubbles having a diameter of less than 40 ?m is 10% or more and less than 30%, the content of bubbles having a diameter of 40 ?m or more and less than 90 ?m is 40% or more and less than 80%, and the content of bubbles having a diameter equal to or more than 90 ?m is 10% or more and less than 30%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: Japan Super Quartz Corporation
    Inventors: Makiko Kodama, Hiroshi Kishi, Minoru Kanda
  • Patent number: 8696811
    Abstract: A feed assembly and method of use thereof of the present invention is used for the addition of a high pressure dopant such as arsenic into a silicon melt for CZ growth of semiconductor silicon crystals. The feed assembly includes a vessel-and-valve assembly for holding dopant, and a feed tube assembly, attached to the vessel-and-valve assembly for delivering dopant to a silicon melt. An actuator is connected to the feed tube assembly and a receiving tube for advancing and retracting the feed tube assembly to and from the surface of the silicon melt. A brake assembly is attached to the actuator and the receiving tube for restricting movement of the feed tube assembly and locking the feed tube assembly at a selected position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Massoud Javidi, Steve Garner
  • Patent number: 8685160
    Abstract: Provided is a fullerene thin wires-attached substrate in which fullerene thin wires are vertically aligned relative to the surface of the substrate and which is applicable to catalysts, column materials, chemical synthesis templates, field emission devices, field effect transistors, photonic crystals, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: National Institute for Materials Science
    Inventors: Cha Seung, II, Kunichi Miyazawa, Jedeok Kim
  • Patent number: 8535439
    Abstract: To provide a manufacturing method for a silicon single crystal that can reduce introduction of dislocation thereinto even if a required amount of dopant is added to a melt while growing a straight body portion of a silicon ingot. In a manufacturing method for a silicon single crystal according to the present invention that includes a dopant addition step of adding a dopant to a melt while a straight body portion of a silicon single crystal is growing in a growth step of growing the silicon single crystal by dipping a seed crystal into a silicon melt and then pulling the seed crystal therefrom, in the dopant addition step, a remaining mass of the melt is calculated at the beginning thereof, and the dopant is added to the melt at a rate of 0.01 to 0.035 g/min·kg per minute per 1 kg of the calculated remaining mass of the melt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Sumco Techxiv Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuhito Narushima, Toshimichi Kubota, Shinichi Kawazoe, Fukuo Ogawa, Tomohiro Fukuda
  • Patent number: 8529695
    Abstract: Silicon wafer manufacturing method including cleaning polycrystalline silicon with dissolved ozone aqueous solution, cleaning the polycrystalline silicon with fluoric acid or mixed acid of fluoric acid and nitric acid, rinsing the polycrystalline silicon with ultra pure water, melting the rinsed polycrystalline silicon and pulling a single crystal silicon ingot from the molten silicon liquid at a solidification ratio of 0.9 or less, making the pulled single crystal silicon ingot into block-shaped or grain-shaped single crystal silicon, cleaning with dissolved ozone aqueous solution, cleaning with fluoric acid or mixed acid of fluoric acid and nitric acid, rinsing the single crystal silicon with ultra pure water, remelting and pulling a single crystal silicon ingot at a solidification of 0.9 or less, and forming a silicon wafer out of the single crystal silicon ingot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Sumco Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Harada, Hisashi Furuya
  • Patent number: 8524000
    Abstract: Methods for producing multicrystalline silicon ingots by use of a Czochralski-type crystal puller and pulling assemblies that include a plurality of seed crystals for pulling multicrystalline silicon ingots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: MEMC Singapore Ptd. Ltd.
    Inventor: Steven L. Kimbel
  • Patent number: 8524001
    Abstract: Silicon wafers having excellent voltage resistance characteristics of an oxide film and high C-mode characteristics are derived from single crystal silicon ingots doped with nitrogen and hydrogen, characterized in that a plurality of voids constituting a bubble-like void aggregates are present ?50% relative to total voids; a V1 region having a void density of over 2×104/cm3 and below 1×105/cm3 is ?20% of the total area of wafer; a V2 region having a void density of 5×102 to 2×104/cm3 occupies ?80% of the total area of the wafer; and bulk microdefect density is ?5×108/cm3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Katsuhiko Nakai, Atsushi Ikari, Masamichi Ohkubo
  • Patent number: 8454746
    Abstract: Silicon single crystals are prepared from molten granules, by producing a first volume of molten silicon between a growing single crystal and the lower end of a silicon conical tube which is closed at its lower end, and encloses a central opening of a rotating silicon plate below which the tube extends, by means of a first induction heating coil arranged below the plate; producing a second volume of molten silicon by a second induction heating coil arranged above the plate; melting the lower end of the tube to form a passage for the second volume of molten silicon, the passage produced at a point in time when the second volume is not yet present or is less than double the volume of the first volume; and crystallizing monocrystalline silicon on the growing single crystal with consumption of molten silicon from the first and the second volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Wilfried von Ammon, Ludwig Altmannshofer
  • Patent number: 8398765
    Abstract: A system for growing silicon crystals that facilitates controlling a shape of a melt-solid interface is described. The crystal growing system includes a heated crucible including a semiconductor melt from which a monocrystalline ingot is grown according to a Czochralski process. The ingot is grown on a seed crystal pulled from the melt. The method includes applying an unbalanced cusped magnetic field to the melt, and rotating the ingot and the crucible in the same direction while the ingot is being pulled from the melt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Hariprasad Sreedharamurthy, Milind Kulkarni, Richard G. Schrenker, Joseph C. Holzer, Harold W. Korb
  • Patent number: 8333838
    Abstract: Provided is an apparatus capable of producing a fluoride crystal in a very short period of time, and a method suitable for producing a fluoride crystal using the apparatus. The apparatus comprises a chamber, a window material, and the like, and is modified such that it can evacuate air from the chamber to provide a high degree vacuum there. The apparatus further includes a crucible, which has a perforation at its bottom. The capillary portion of the perforation is adjusted to facilitate the contact of a seed crystal with a melt. By using the apparatus it is possible to stably produce high quality single crystals of fluorides in a short period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignees: Stella Chemifa Corporation, Fukuda Crystal Laboratory
    Inventors: Tsuguo Fukuda, Hirohisa Kikuyama, Tomohiko Satonaga
  • Patent number: 8317919
    Abstract: An improved system based on the Czochralski process for continuous growth of a single crystal ingot comprises a low aspect ratio, large diameter, and substantially flat crucible, including an optional weir surrounding the crystal. The low aspect ratio crucible substantially eliminates convection currents and reduces oxygen content in a finished single crystal silicon ingot. A separate level controlled silicon pre-melting chamber provides a continuous source of molten silicon to the growth crucible advantageously eliminating the need for vertical travel and a crucible raising system during the crystal pulling process. A plurality of heaters beneath the crucible establish corresponding thermal zones across the melt. Thermal output of the heaters is individually controlled for providing an optimal thermal distribution across the melt and at the crystal/melt interface for improved crystal growth. Multiple crystal pulling chambers are provided for continuous processing and high throughput.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: Solaicx, Inc.
    Inventor: David L Bender
  • Patent number: 8246744
    Abstract: By specifying an initial oxygen concentration in a silicon single crystal and a concentration of thermal donors produced according to a thermal history from 400° C. to 550° C. that the silicon single crystal undergoes during crystal growth, a nucleation rate of oxygen precipitates produced in the silicon single crystal while the silicon single crystal is subjected to a heat treatment is determined. Further, by specifying the heat treatment condition of the silicon single crystal, an oxygen precipitate density and an amount of precipitated oxygen under a given heat treatment condition are predicted by calculation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Komatsu Denshi Kinzoku Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kozo Nakamura, Junsuke Tomioka, Tetsuro Akagi, Shiro Yoshino
  • Patent number: 8241424
    Abstract: An upper side heater 10 is configured so that a current passage width becomes larger at a heater lower part than at a heater upper part. Thus, the upper side heater 10 has a current-carrying cross-sectional area which becomes larger at the heater lower part than at the heater upper part, a resistance value becomes accordingly smaller at the heater lower part than at the heater upper part, and a heat generation amount becomes relatively smaller at the heater lower part than at the heater upper part. Meanwhile, a lower side heater 20 is configured so that the current passage width becomes larger at the heater upper part than at the heater lower part. Thus, the current-carrying cross-sectional area of the lower side heater 20 becomes larger at the heater upper part than at the heater lower part, a resistance value becomes accordingly smaller at the heater upper part than at the heater lower part, and a heat generation amount becomes relatively smaller at the heater upper part than at the heater lower part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Sumco Techxiv Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuhiro Iida, Yutaka Shiraishi, Junsuke Tomioka
  • Patent number: 8236104
    Abstract: A single-crystal manufacturing apparatus comprising at least: a main chamber configured to accommodate a crucible; a pulling chamber continuously provided above the main chamber, the pulling chamber into which a grown single crystal is pulled and accommodated; a gas inlet provided in the pulling chamber; a gas flow-guide cylinder downwardly extending from a ceiling of the main chamber; and a heat-insulating ring upwardly extending from a lower end portion of the gas flow-guide cylinder with a diameter of the heat-insulating ring increased so as to surround an outside of the gas flow-guide cylinder, wherein at least one window is provided in a region between 50 and 200 mm from a lower end of the gas flow-guide cylinder, and an opening area of the window accounts for 50% or more of a surface area of the region between 50 and 200 mm from the lower end of the gas flow-guide cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoshi Soeta, Toshifumi Fujii
  • Patent number: 8231725
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers of silicon are produced by pulling a single crystal growing on a phase boundary from a melt contained in a crucible and cutting of semiconductor wafers therefrom, wherein during pulling of the single crystal, heat is delivered to a center of the phase boundary and a radial profile of a ratio V/G from the center to an edge of the phase boundary is controlled, G being the temperature gradient perpendicular to the phase boundary and V being the pull rate. The radial profile of the ratio V/G is controlled so that the effect of thermomechanical stress in the single crystal adjoining the phase boundary, is compensated with respect to creation of intrinsic point defects. The invention also relates to defect-free semiconductor wafers of silicon, which can be produced economically by this method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Andreas Sattler, Wilfried von Ammon, Martin Weber, Walter Haeckl, Herbert Schmidt
  • Patent number: 8114218
    Abstract: A single crystal pull apparatus has a multilayer crucible wherein the crucible has an outer crucible, an insertable layer intimately fitted thereon, and a wire frame positioned between the insertable layer and an inner crucible. The insertable layer, wire frame and inner crucible are preferably composed of platinum. Furthermore the insertable layers have thin walls and the frame has a small diameter such that they can be easily reshaped after any deformation occurring as a result of the single crystal growth process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Olexy V. Radkevich, Keith Ritter
  • Patent number: 8043427
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers of silicon are produced by pulling a single crystal growing on a phase boundary from a melt contained in a crucible and cutting of semiconductor wafers therefrom, wherein during pulling of the single crystal, heat is delivered to a center of the phase boundary and a radial profile of a ratio V/G from the center to an edge of the phase boundary is controlled, G being the temperature gradient perpendicular to the phase boundary and V being the pull rate. The radial profile of the ratio V/G is controlled so that the effect of thermomechanical stress in the single crystal adjoining the phase boundary, is compensated with respect to creation of intrinsic point defects. The invention also relates to defect-free semiconductor wafers of silicon, which can be produced economically by this method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Andreas Sattler, Wilfried von Ammon, Martin Weber, Walter Haeckl, Herbert Schmidt
  • Patent number: 8016942
    Abstract: A metal fluoride single crystal pulling apparatus that upward pulling initiation through termination, in the state of shallow melt capable of highly effective inhibition of scatterer formation, can perform stable growth of single crystal and can suppress any mixing of air bubbles and occurrence of crystal break during crystal growth, etc; and a process for producing a metal fluoride single crystal therewith. As a crucible for accommodating a melt of raw metal fluoride, use is made of a double structured crucible composed of an outer crucible and an inner crucible. In the upward pulling of single crystal, the accommodation depth of inner crucible relative to the outer crucible is increased in accordance with any decrease of melt accommodated in the inner crucible according to the growth of single crystal, so that the melt accommodated in the outer crucible is fed into the inner crucible to thereby maintain the amount of melt accommodated in the inner crucible within a given range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: Tokuyama Corporation
    Inventors: Teruhiko Nawata, Ken Yasumura, Hiroyuki Yanagi, Eiichi Nishijima
  • Patent number: 7955582
    Abstract: A method for producing crystallized silicon according to the EFG process by using a shaping part, between which part and a silicon melt, crystallized silicon grows in a growth zone. Inert gas and at least water vapor are fed into the silicon melt and/or growth zone, by means of which the oxygen content of the crystallized silicon is increased. From 50 to 250 ppm of vapor water is added to the inert gas, and the inert gas has an oxygen, CO and/or CO2 content of less than 20 ppm total.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Schott Solar GmbH
    Inventors: Albrecht Seidl, Ingo Schwirtlich
  • Patent number: 7875116
    Abstract: A method in which SSDs are reliably reduced while reducing void defects other than the SSDs on a wafer surface, which is essential for an annealed wafer, and ensuring that BMDs serving as gettering source in a bulk are generated, in order to stabilize the quality of the annealed wafer. Considering that annealing a silicon wafer leads to an increase of density (quantity) of deposits associated with oxygen and nitrogen and forming a core of the SSDs, SSDs are decreased by reducing the density (quantity) of the deposits associated with oxygen and nitrogen by controlling three parameters of oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration and cooling concentration during the process of pulling and growing the silicon single crystal 6 before annealing. Alternatively, SSD is reduced by polishing after annealing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sumco Techxiv Corporation
    Inventors: Shinya Sadohara, Ryota Suewaka, Shiro Yoshino, Kozo Nakamura, Yutaka Shiraishi, Syunji Nonaka
  • Patent number: 7867334
    Abstract: A silicon casting apparatus for producing polycrystal silicon ingot by heating a silicon melt (8) held in a mold (4) from above by a heater (3) and cooling it from below while changing the heat exchange area of a heat exchange region (HE), defined between a pedestal (5) having the mold (4) placed thereon and a bottom cooling member (6), in such a manner as to keep pace with the rise of the solid-liquid interface of the silicon melt (8), thereby causing unidirectional solidification upward along the mold (4); and a method of producing polycrystal silicon ingot using such apparatus. According to this production method, the temperature gradient given to the silicon melt (8) can be maintained at constant by adjusting the heat exchange area, so that polycrystal silicon ingot having good characteristics can be produced with good reproducibility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
    Inventor: Youhei Sakai
  • Patent number: 7846253
    Abstract: The present invention can provide a silicon semiconductor substrate used for and epitaxial wafer, in which uniform and high-level gettering ability is obtained irrespective of slicing positions from a silicon single crystal while generation of epitaxial defects can be suppressed, by doping carbon or carbon along with nitrogen during a pulling process of a CZ method or by performing appropriate heat treatment prior to the epitaxial process. Therefore, a crystal production yield can remarkably be improved because a permissible upper limit (concentration margin) of an oxygen concentration which is restricted by formation of a ring-shaped OSF region can be higher and also an excellent gettering ability is exhibited, while allowing an epitaxial wafer to be produced wherein epitaxial defects attributable to substrate crystal defects are not formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Sumco Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuo Koike
  • Patent number: 7803228
    Abstract: By using oxygen-containing silicon wafers obtained by the CZ method and by combining the first heat treatment comprising controlled heat-up operation (ramping) with the second heat treatment comprising high-temperature heat treatment and medium temperature heat treatment in accordance with the process for producing high-resistance silicon wafers according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain high-resistance silicon wafers capable of maintaining their high resistance even after heat treatment in the process of device manufacture while efficiently inhibiting the formation of oxygen donors and preventing changes in resistivity. Further, excellent epitaxial wafers and SOI wafers can be produced using those high-resistance silicon wafers and, therefore, they can be applied in a wide field including high-frequency communication devices and analog/digital hybrid devices, among others.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Sumco Corporation
    Inventors: Kazunari Kurita, Shinsuke Sadamitsu, Hiroyuki Takao, Masataka Hourai
  • Patent number: 7749324
    Abstract: The present invention includes a method for casting a silicon ingot by using a continuous casting method by means of an electromagnetic induction, and a method for cutting the silicon ingot as a starting material into plural silicon blocks. When the silicon blocks with a square section are cut out, the sectional shape of the silicon ingot is set to be rectangular. Not less than 6 pieces of equal-sized silicon blocks are cut out from the silicon ingot, thereby enabling to enhance the manufacturing efficiency to a great extent. And since the amount of excision of the edge per silicon block is reduced, the production yield can be enhanced. Further, since the proportion of columnar crystals with large grain size inside the ingot can be increased, it becomes possible to enhance the conversion efficiency of a solar battery using the silicon block as a substrate material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: Sumco Solar Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuo Yoshihara, Kenichi Sasatani
  • Patent number: 7718003
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for growing a crystalline or poly-crystalline body from a melt is described, wherein the melt is retained by capillary attachment to edge features of a mesa crucible. The boundary profile of the resulting melt surface results in an effect which induces a ribbon grown from the surface of the melt to grow as a flat body. Further, the size of the melt pool is substantially reduced by bringing these edges close to the ribbon, thereby reducing the materials cost and electric power cost associated with the process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Evergreen Solar, Inc.
    Inventor: Emanuel Michael Sachs
  • Patent number: 7708829
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for growing a crystalline or poly-crystalline body from a melt is described, wherein the melt is retained by capillary attachment to edge features of a mesa crucible. The boundary profile of the resulting melt surface results in an effect which induces a ribbon grown from the surface of the melt to grow as a flat body. Further, the size of the melt pool is substantially reduced by bringing these edges close to the ribbon, thereby reducing the materials cost and electric power cost associated with the process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Evergreen Solar, Inc.
    Inventor: Emanuel Michael Sachs
  • Patent number: 7655089
    Abstract: A process for producing a single crystal of semiconductor material, in which fractions of a melt, are kept in liquid form by a pulling coil, solidify on a seed crystal to form the growing single crystal, and granules are melted in order to maintain the growth of the single crystal. The melting granules are passed to the melt after a delay. There is also an apparatus which Is suitable for carrying out the process and has a device which delays mixing of the molten granules and of the melt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2010
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventor: Wilfried von Ammon
  • Patent number: 7591895
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for producing crystals wherein crystal quality can be kept and a crystal composition is uniformed from a growth early stage to a growth last stage are provided. In an apparatus for producing crystals wherein the crystals 13 are grown from a liquefying raw material 12 in a crucible retained in a furnace and slowly cooling the raw material 12 in the crucible 11 from below upward, the apparatus comprises a raw material supply apparatus 18 which supplies a resupply raw material, and a reflection plate 20 placed above the crucible 11, which liquefies the resupply raw material 19 supplied from the raw material supply apparatus 18 and drops it as a liquid into the crucible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiro Sasaura, Hiroki Kohda, Kazuo Fujiura, Takashi Kobayashi, Tadayuki Imai, Takashi Kurihara
  • Patent number: 7413605
    Abstract: By pulling up an ingot in consideration of deformation of a crucible, generation of the defective ingot is prevented and a plurality of ingots having equivalent quality with the first ingot are pulled up in a multiple pull-up. Firstly, a deformation amount of a crucible for experiment (34) upon melting a silicon raw material and a history of supply power to a heater for experiment (38) are measured to calculate deformation tendency of a crucible for mass production (14). Next, the size of the crucible for mass production is measured, the silicon raw material of the amount equivalent to the amount supplied to the crucible for experiment is melted with a heater for mass production (18), and an initial crucible external position with a predetermined gap (X) is measured before initiating pull-up.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Sumco Corporation
    Inventor: Jun Furukawa
  • Patent number: 7399360
    Abstract: Provided are a crucible which prevents polycrystal formation to easily allow growth of optical part material single crystals, and a single crystal growth method employing the crucible. The crucible has a smooth surface of about Rmax 3.2s as the surface roughness of the wall surface 1H, concave curved plane 1J, cone surface 1F and convex curved plane 1L of the starting material carrying section 1D and the wall surface 1K of the seed carrying section 1E, which constitute the inner surface of the crucible of a crucible body 1A.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiji Sumiya, Nachimuthu Senguttuvan, Hiroyuki Ishibashi
  • Patent number: 7381392
    Abstract: The present invention relates to silicon feedstock for producing directionally solidified silicon ingots, thin sheets and ribbons for the production of silicon wafers for PV solar cells where the silicon feedstock contains between 0.2 and 10 ppma boron and between 0.1 and 10 ppma phosphorus distributed in the material. The invention further relates to directionally solidified silicon ingot or thin silicon sheet or ribbon for making wafers for solar cells containing between 0.2 ppma and 10 ppma boron and between 0.1 ppma and 10 ppma phosphorus distributed in the ingot, said silicon ingot having a type change from p-type to n-type or from n-type to p-type at a position between 40 and 99% of the ingot height or sheet or ribbon thickness and having a resistivity profile described by an exponential curve having a starting value between 0.4 and 10 ohm cm and where the resistivity value increases towards the type change point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Elkem AS
    Inventors: Erik Enebakk, Kenneth Friestad, Ragnar Tronstad, Cyrus Zahedi, Christian Dethloff
  • Patent number: 7344594
    Abstract: A method of charging a crystal forming apparatus with molten source material is provided. The method includes the steps of positioning a melter assembly relative to the crystal forming apparatus for delivering molten silicon to a crucible of the apparatus. An upper heating coil in the melter assembly is operated to melt source material in a melting crucible. A lower heating coil in the melter assembly is operated to allow molten source material to flow through an orifice of the melter assembly to deliver a stream of molten source material to the crucible of the crystal forming apparatus. The invention is also directed to a method of charging a crystal puller with molten silicon including the step of removing an upper housing of the crystal puller defining a pulling chamber from a lower housing of the crystal puller defining a growth chamber and attaching the lower housing in place of the upper housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Assignee: MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.
    Inventor: John Davis Holder
  • Patent number: 7326297
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for the production of crystal rods having a defined cross-section and a column-shaped polycrystalline structure by means of floating-zone continuous crystallization, comprising at least one crucible filled with crystalline material, provided with a central deviation for transporting the contents of the crucible to a growing crystal rod arranged below the crucible, whereby the central deviation plunges into the melt meniscus, also comprising means for continuously adjustable provision of crystalline material to the crucible, and means for simultaneously feeding the melt energy and adjusting the crystallization front.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2008
    Assignee: PV Silicon Forschungs- und Produktions AG.
    Inventors: Nikolai V. Abrosimov, Helge Riemann
  • Patent number: 7323047
    Abstract: In a method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal by allowing silicon melt in a crucible to be granularly discharged and fallen from a nozzle part composed of silicon carbide or silicon nitride, and cooling and solidifying the granular silicon melt during falling, a carbon source is added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide, and a nitrogen source is added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride, to the silicon melt in the crucible. Thereby, melt droplets of uniform size can be generated, so that granular silicon crystals having narrow variations in particle size can be manufactured at high productivity and superior reproducibility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2008
    Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
    Inventors: Shin Sugawara, Eigo Takahashi, Nobuyuki Kitahara, Yoshio Miura, Hisao Arimune
  • Patent number: 7318916
    Abstract: A semiconductive GaAs wafer has a diameter of 4 inches or more, and an in-wafer plane dislocation density of 30,000/cm2 or more and 100,000/cm2 or less. A semiconductive GaAs wafer is made by growing a GaAs single crystal under a temperature gradient of 20° C./cm or more and 150° C./cm or less formed in the crystal so that the semiconductive GaAs wafer has an in-wafer plane dislocation density of 30,000/cm2 or more and 100,000/cm2 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Cable, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Yabuki, Michinori Wachi, Kouji Daihou
  • Patent number: 7311772
    Abstract: Means for supplying raw material in additional charging or recharging of solid granular raw material into molten material in the crucible, comprises a raw material supply tube to be filled with said material, a metallic support member which runs through the inside of the tube, connects with the bottom lid, and serves for descending the lid and for ascending the tube and the lid, and a configuration avoiding metallic contamination, whereby the lower-end aperture of the tube is opened for charging said material therein into the crucible in uniform circumferential distribution and in large quantity, thus achieving efficient supply operation to be widely applied for growing silicon single crystals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2007
    Assignee: Sumco Corporation
    Inventors: Katsunori Nakashima, Koji Toma, Manabu Moroishi
  • Patent number: 7229494
    Abstract: A method for producing a compound semiconductor single crystal by a liquid encapsulated Czochralski method, including containing a semiconductor raw material and an encapsulating material in a raw material melt-containing portion having a first crucible having a bottom and a cylindrical shape and a second crucible disposed within the first crucible and having a communication hole communicating with the first crucible in a bottom portion thereof; melting the raw material by heating the raw material melt-containing portion; and growing a crystal by making a seed crystal contact with a surface of the raw material melt in a state covered with the encapsulating material and by pulling up the seed crystal. A heater temperature is controlled so that a diameter of a growing crystal becomes approximately equal to an inner diameter of the second crucible, and the crystal is grown by maintaining a surface of the growing crystal in a state covered with the encapsulating material until termination of crystal growth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Nippon Mining & Metals Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Asahi, Kenji Sato, Atsutoshi Arakawa
  • Patent number: 7220308
    Abstract: To suppress a fluctuation in resistivity around a target value to thereby stably manufacture high resistivity silicon single crystals having almost the same resistivity values in a manufacturing method wherein a silicon raw material is molten to manufacture a high resistivity silicon single crystal in the range of from 100 to 2000 ? cm with a CZ method. In a case where poly-silicon produced with a Siemens method using trichlorosilane as raw material is used as the silicon raw material, an impurity concentration in the silicon raw material is selected so as to be controlled in the range of from ?5 to 50 ppta method in terms of (a donor concentration—an acceptor concentration) and the selected poly-silicon is used. In a case of a MCZ method, the poly-silicon is selected in the range of from ?25 to 20 ppta and the selected poly-silicon is used. Instead of the raw material, poly-silicon produced with a Siemens method using monosilane as raw material is used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corporation
    Inventors: Nobumitsu Takase, Hideshi Nishikawa, Makoto Ito, Koujl Sueoka, Shinsuke Sadamitsu
  • Patent number: 7135069
    Abstract: An inexpensive method of coating silicon shot with boron atoms comprises (1) immersing silicon shot in an aqueous solution comprising a boric acid and polyvinyl alcohol, and (2) heating the solution so as to evaporate water and form a polymerized polyvinyl alcohol coating containing boron on the shot. A precise amount of this coated shot may then be mixed with a measured quantity of intrinsic silicon pellets and the resulting mixture may then be melted to provide a boron-doped silicon melt for use in growing p-type silicon bodies that can be converted to substrates for photovoltaic solar cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2006
    Assignee: Schott Solar, Inc.
    Inventor: Bernhard P. Piwczyk
  • Patent number: 7122082
    Abstract: A silicon wafer wherein stacking fault (SF) nuclei are distributed throughout the entire in-plane direction, and the density of the stacking fault nuclei is set to a range of between 0.5×108 cm?3 and 1×1011 cm?3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Assignee: Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corporation
    Inventors: Takaaki Shiota, Yoshinobu Nakada
  • Patent number: 7052547
    Abstract: In single crystal growth by means of a CZ method, a granular/lump polycrystalline raw material is additionally supplied into a raw material melt in a crucible through a vertical charging tube. A raw material accumulating section is provided at a site part way downward in the vertical charging tube working in such a way that a predetermined amount of the polycrystalline raw material is accumulated in the raw material accumulating section and the polycrystalline raw material in excess of the predetermined amount falls down. The polycrystalline raw material falling down in the vertical charging tube strikes against the accumulated raw material in the raw material accumulating section, thereby absorbing a shock of the falling raw material. The accumulated raw material works simultaneously as a protective member, thereby preventing breakage of the tube accompanying absorption of the shock from occurring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2006
    Assignee: Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Watanabe, Hiroshi Asano, Masakazu Onishi
  • Patent number: 7014704
    Abstract: A method for growing a silicon single crystal used for semiconductor integrated circuit devices, wherein the single crystal is grown by the CZ method at a nitrogen concentration of 1×1013 atoms/cm3–1×1015 atoms/cm3 with a cooling rate of not less than 2.5° C./min at a crystal temperature of 1150° C.–1000° C., in which case, the pulling rate is adjusted such that the outside diameter of a circular region including oxidation-induced stacking faults generated at the center of a wafer which is subjected to the oxidation heat treatment at high temperature is not more than ? of the wafer diameter, wherein the wafer is prepared by slicing the grown single crystal. In the growth method, the concentration of oxygen in the silicon single crystal is preferably not more than 9×1017 atoms/cm3 (ASTM '79). With this method, the silicon single crystal, in which the generation of Grown-in defects can be effectively suppressed, can be produced in a simple process without any increase in the production cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiaki Ono, Tadami Tanaka, Shigeru Umeno, Eiichi Asayama, Hideshi Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 6984263
    Abstract: In a single crystal pulling apparatus for providing a Czochralski crystal growth process, the improvement of a shallow melt crucible (20) to eliminate the necessity supplying a large quantity of feed stock materials that had to be preloaded in a deep crucible to grow a large ingot, comprising a gas tight container a crucible with a deepened periphery (25) to prevent snapping of a shallow melt and reduce turbulent melt convection; source supply means for adding source material to the semiconductor melt; a double barrier (23) to minimize heat transfer between the deepened periphery (25) and the shallow melt in the growth compartment; offset holes (24) in the double barrier (23) to increase melt travel length between the deepened periphery (25) and the shallow growth compartment; and the interface heater/heat sink (22) to control the interface shape and crystal growth rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: Midwest Research Institute
    Inventors: Tihu Wang, Theodore F. Ciszek