Abstract: Buckling of a vitreous silica crucible or fall of a sidewall into the crucible is effectively suppressed. Furthermore, dislocations in a silicon single crystal are suppressed to enhance the yield of the single crystal. The vitreous silica crucible is used to pull single-crystal silicon and includes the cylindrical sidewall having an upward-opening rim, a mortar-shaped bottom including a curve, and a round portion connecting the sidewall and the bottom. The round portion is provided in such a manner that the curvature of the inner surface thereof is gradually increased from the sidewall toward the bottom in a section passing through the rotation axis of the vitreous silica crucible.

Abstract: A system for growing a crystal ingot from a melt includes a crucible assembly configured to contain the melt and a susceptor configured to support the crucible assembly. The crucible assembly includes a substantially transparent crucible. The system further includes a heating system for generating thermal energy and disposed to supply thermal energy to the susceptor via thermal radiation. The susceptor enables transfer of thermal energy to the melt via radiation through the transparent crucible.

Abstract: A method for producing a SiC substrate with an epitaxial layer, which can prevent inventory of wafers from unduly increasing and wasteful production, is provided. This is achieved by a method for producing a SiC substrate with an epitaxial layer one at a time, the method comprising growing an epitaxial layer and growing a SiC substrate on a seed crystal substrate, and the method further comprising removing the obtained SiC substrate with the epitaxial layer from the seed crystal substrate.

Abstract: A SiC single crystal manufacturing method whereby growing speed improvement required to have high productivity can be achieved, while maintaining flat growth in which uniform single crystal growth can be continued at the time of growing a SiC single crystal using a solution method. In the method, a SiC single crystal is grown in a crucible from a Si solution containing C. The method includes alternately repeating: a high supersaturation degree growing period, in which the growth is promoted by maintaining the supersaturation degree of C in the Si solution higher than an upper limit critical value at which flat growth can be maintained, the supersaturation degree being at a growing interface between the Si solution and a SiC single crystal being grown; and a low supersaturation degree growing period, in which the growth is promoted by maintaining the supersaturation degree lower than the critical value.

Abstract: In a method of producing a SiC single crystal, the SiC single crystal is grown on a SiC seed crystal by bringing the SiC seed crystal, which is fixed at a rotatable seed crystal fixing shaft, into contact with a solution produced by dissolving carbon in melt containing silicon in a rotatable crucible. The method includes starting rotation of the seed crystal fixing shaft, and starting rotation of the crucible after a predetermined delay time (Td); then stopping the rotation of the seed crystal fixing shaft and the rotation of the crucible simultaneously; then stopping the seed crystal fixing shaft and the crucible for a predetermined stop time (Ts); and repeating a rotation/stop cycle.

Abstract: Techniques are generally disclosed for forming crystalline bodies. An example system, device or method for forming crystalline bodies may include a crucible for containing molten crystalline material and a support for accommodating a seed on an end thereof, the support being movable along a translation axis in a pull direction to draw the seed crystal from the molten crystalline, thereby initiating growth of a crystalline body along a growth path. Further examples may include one or more nozzles configured to be coupled to a fluid source, the nozzles being positioned relative to the growth path for shaping the crystal body as the molten crystalline is pulled in the pull direction along the growth path.

Abstract: A doping device includes a first dopant accommodating portion including an opening on an upper portion to accommodate a first dopant that is evaporated near a surface of a semiconductor melt; a second dopant accommodating portion including a dopant holder that holds a second dopant that is liquefied near the surface of the semiconductor melt while including a communicating hole for delivering the liquefied dopant downwardly, and a conduit tube provided on a lower portion of the dopant holder for delivering the liquefied dopant flowed from the communicating hole to the surface of the semiconductor melt; and a guide provided by a cylinder body of which a lower end is opened and an upper end is closed for guiding dopant gas generated by evaporation of the first dopant to the surface of the semiconductor melt.

Abstract: A method for growing a single crystal in a chamber. The method includes heating raw material to form a melt for forming the single crystal. A crystal seed is then inserted into the melt and pulled from the melt to form a partial ingot, wherein the partial ingot radiates heat. An amount of gas is then introduced into the chamber which corresponds to a size of the partial ingot so as to provide a constant crystallization rate.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a single crystal ingot, and a single crystal ingot and a wafer manufactured thereby are provided. The method of manufacturing a single crystal ingot according to an embodiment includes forming a silicon melt in a crucible inside a chamber, preparing a seed crystal on the silicon melt, and growing a single crystal ingot from the silicon melt, and pressure of the chamber may be controlled in a range of 90 Torr to 500 Torr.

Abstract: A manufacturing apparatus for SiC single crystal has a control unit to control induction heating such that frequency f (Hz) of alternating current to be passed to the induction heating unit satisfies Formula (1); D1 (mm) is permeation depth of electromagnetic waves into a side wall of a crucible by the heating unit, D2 (mm) is permeation depth of electromagnetic waves into a SiC solution, T (mm) is thickness of the crucible side wall of the crucible, and R (mm) is crucible inner radius: (D1?T)×D2/R>1??(1) where, D1 is defined by Formula (2), and D2 by Formula (3): D1=503292×(1/(f×?c×?c))1/2??(2) D2=503292×(1/(f×?s×?s))1/2??(3); ?c is electric conductivity (S/m) of the sidewall, ?s is electric conductivity (S/m) of the SiC solution; ?c is relative permeability of the sidewall, and ?s relative permeability of the SiC solution.

Abstract: A single crystal production apparatus using the Czochralski method, includes: a crucible for holding raw material melt; a pedestal that supports the crucible and can be moved upward and downward; a crucible rotating shaft for rotating the crucible via the pedestal; and a melt receiver that is disposed below the crucible and provided with a center sleeve surrounding the pedestal, wherein, on the outer periphery of the pedestal, two or more grooves for preventing the raw material melt leaking from the crucible from dripping are provided. The single crystal production apparatus and single crystal production method can reliably prevent melt from reaching a metal portion below the pedestal even when the raw material melt in the crucible flows to the outside of the crucible in an unexpected accident or the like and runs down along the pedestal and thereby prevent damage to the apparatus and the occurrence of an accident.

Abstract: An annealed wafer in which oxygen precipitation is uniform in the substrate plane and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. A nitrogen-doped silicon single crystal substrate pulled at the cooling rate of 4° C./minute or more during crystal growth between 1100 and 1000° C. wherein the nitrogen concentration is 1×1014 to 5×1015 atoms/cm3 and V/G satisfies predetermined conditions serves as a substrate, and the substrate is subjected to heat treatment in a non-oxidative atmosphere.

Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a single LTGA crystal from a polycrystalline starting material prepared from a mixture of La2O3, Ta2O5, Ga2O3, and Al2O3, wherein a mixture having a composition represented by y(La2O3)+(1-x-y-z)(Ta2O5)+z(Ga2O3)+x(Al2O3) (in the formula, 0<x?0.40/9, 3.00/9<y?3.23/9, and 5.00/9?z<5.50/9) is used as the polycrystalline starting material, and a single LTGA crystal is grown using the Z-axis as a crystal growth axis. The grown LTGA single crystal is preferably subjected to a vacuum heat treatment. The single LTGA crystal grown by the method according to the present invention, which is highly insulative and highly stable, can be utilized in such applications as a piezoelectric element of a highly reliable combustion pressure sensor useful in measurement of a combustion pressure in a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine.

Abstract: Provided are a resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot grower, a method of manufacturing a resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot, a sapphire single crystal ingot, and a sapphire wafer. The resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot grower comprises according to an embodiment includes a chamber, a crucible included in the chamber and containing an alumina melt, and a resistance heating heater included inside the chamber and heating the crucible.

Abstract: In a method of producing an SiC single crystal, the SiC single crystal is grown on an SiC seed crystal by bringing the SiC seed crystal, which is fixed at a rotatable seed crystal fixing shaft, into contact with a solution produced by dissolving carbon in melt containing silicon in a rotatable crucible. The method includes starting rotation of the seed crystal fixing shaft, and starting rotation of the crucible after a predetermined delay time (Td); then stopping the rotation of the seed crystal fixing shaft and the rotation of the crucible simultaneously; then stopping the seed crystal fixing shaft and the crucible for a predetermined stop time (Ts); and repeating a rotation/stop cycle.

Abstract: Provided is a vitreous silica crucible which can suppress inward sagging and buckling of the sidewall effectively even when time for pulling silicon ingots is extremely long. According to the present invention, provided is a vitreous silica crucible for pulling a silicon single crystal, wherein the crucible has a wall comprising, from an inner surface toward an outer surface of the crucible, a transparent vitreous silica layer having a bubble content rate of less than 0.5%, a bubble-containing vitreous silica layer having a bubble content rate of 1% or more and less than 50%, a semi-transparent vitreous silica layer having a bubble content rate of 0.5% or more and less than 1.0% and having an OH group concentration of 35 ppm or more and less than 300 ppm.

Abstract: Computer controlled quality control methods for manufacturing high purity polycrystalline granules are introduced. Polycrystalline silicon granules are sampled and converted into single crystal specimen in computer controlled system, eliminating the need of human operator in controlling the processing parameters. Single crystal silicon test samples, then characterized by FTIR and other standard analysis, are therefore more representative of the starting granular silicon.

Abstract: Following steps are implemented: a melting step in which aluminum oxide within a crucible placed in a chamber is melted to obtain an aluminum melt; a shoulder-portion formation step in which a seed crystal brought into contact with the aluminum melt is pulled up to thereby form a shoulder portion below the seed crystal; and a body-portion formation step in which a mixed gas including oxygen and an inert gas and having an oxygen concentration set at not less than 0.6 vol % nor more than 3.0 vol % is supplied to the inside of the chamber while single-crystal sapphire is pulled up from the melt, thereby forming a body portion. Thus, when single-crystal sapphire is obtained by crystal growth from a melt of aluminum oxide, air bubbles are more effectively inhibited from coming into the single-crystal sapphire.

Abstract: Silicon monocrystal growth is ended before a liquid surface of a melt reaches a corner portion of a quartz crucible, and thus dislocation of a silicon monocrystal can be reduced and reduction in yield can be prevented.

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.

Abstract: A silica glass crucible used for pulling single-crystal silicon, which includes a cylindrical straight body part, a bottom part and a curved part located between the straight body part and the bottom part, wherein the curvature radius of the inner wall surface of the curved part is 100 to 240 mm. Variation of the wall thickness W of the curved part is preferably 0.1 to 1.4 mm/cm.

Abstract: A silica glass crucible used for pulling single-crystal silicon, which includes a cylindrical straight body part, a bottom part and a curved part located between the straight body part and the bottom part, wherein the curvature radius of the inner wall surface of the curved part is 100 to 240 mm. Variation of the wall thickness W of the curved part is preferably 0.1 to 1.4 mm/cm.

Abstract: A device and method for producing Ga doped silicone single crystal with a diameter between 150 and 165 mm and a narrow resistivity distribution range (from 3 ?·cm to 0.5 ?·cm). The device is characterized by the use of a shorter heater and a funnel shaped gas flow guide capable of blowing an inert gas such as Ar straight to the crystallization frontier at the interface between outer surface of the nascent single crystal ingot and the surface of the melt of polycrystalline silicone raw materials in a quartz crucible.

Abstract: A single crystal production method based on the Czochralski method comprises controlling a number of crucible rotations and crystal rotations so that a number of vibrations for driving a melt, determined on the basis of the number of crucible and crystal rotations during a single crystal growing procedure, is outside a range from 95% to 105% of a number of sloshing resonance vibrations of the melt. In another embodiment, the method comprises controlling a number of rotations of a crystal and crucible, so that when a number of vibrations for driving a melt, determined by the number of crucible and crystal rotations during a single crystal growing procedure, is within a range from 95% to 105% of a number of sloshing resonance vibrations of the melt, the number of vibrations of the melt due to sloshing does not exceed 2000 times during a period when the number of vibrations is within that range.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an epitaxial wafer comprising single crystal silicon substrate and an epitaxial layer deposited thereon. The substrate comprises an axially symmetric region which is free of agglomerated intrinsic point defects and wherein silicon self-interstitials are the predominant intrinsic point defect in the axially symmetric region. The present invention further relates to a process for producing such an epitaxial wafer.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a damage-resistant silicon wafer is provided. The method comprises adding polycrystalline silicon to a crucible, adding a nitrogen-containing dopant to the crucible, heating the polycrystalline silicon to form a melt of nitrogen-doped silicon, pulling a nitrogen-doped silicon crystal from the melt using a seed crystal according to the Czochralski technique, forming a silicon wafer from the silicon crystal, the silicon wafer having an edge, and rounding the edge of the silicon wafer. The method may optionally include applying an electrical potential across the crucible while pulling the nitrogen-doped silicon crystal from the melt.

Abstract: An apparatus for growing a single crystal of semiconductor is provided, which makes it possible to grow a heavy single crystal of semiconductor of 100 kg or greater in weight even if a growing single crystal contains a neck. In the apparatus, the first and second electrodes are provided such that the first ends of the first and second electrodes are electrically connected to the power supply and the second ends of the first and second electrodes are contacted with the melt in the crucible. During the growth process, a specific voltage is applied across the first ends of the first and second electrodes, thereby forming the electrical current path interconnecting the second ends of the first and second electrodes in the melt. The magnetic field is generated with the magnetic field generator to intersect with the electrical current path in the melt. No electric current flows through the growing single crystal from the melt.

Abstract: There are provided an apparatus for producing single crystals and a method for producing single crystals, which can absorb and eliminate vibration generated by a crucible rotation driving motor, or prevent transmission of the vibration to a melt, or attenuate the vibration in the production of single crystals by the CZ method. The apparatus for producing single crystals comprises a crucible for accommodating a raw material melt, a mechanism for pulling a crystal from the melt, a mechanism for rotating the crucible, and a transfer mechanism for vertically moving the crucible, wherein, in the rotation mechanism for the crucible, a ball spline is used for power transmission between a crucible-supporting shaft and a crucible rotation driving unit, and the crucible rotation driving unit is fixedly installed on a substructure of the apparatus for producing single crystals. Further, single crystals are produced by using the apparatus.

Abstract: The apparatus is provided with a vessel 1 for accommodating a melt 3 of material sought to be crystallized, and heaters 2 disposed symmetrically on both sides of the vessel. The vessel 1 has an interior space whose front cross section is symmetrical in shape along a vertical center line. The heaters 2 heat the vessel to create a temperature distribution in the melt in which the upper part of the vessel 1 is at a higher temperature, and the lower part thereof is at a lower temperature. The temperature distribution causes symmetrical convection flows of the melt in such a manner that two flows each move up along the side walls of the interior space of the vessel 1 and meet with each other at the top of the interior space where the vertical center line runs, and move together down along the vertical center line toward the bottom of the interior space. A single crystal is formed as the temperature at the lower end of the vessel 1 is gradually lowered below the melting point of the material.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a set of epitaxial silicon wafers assembled in a wafer cassette, boat or other wafer carrier. Each wafer comprises a single crystal silicon substrate having an axially symmetric region in which silicon self-interstitials are the predominant intrinsic point defect and which is substantially free of agglomerated defects, and an epitaxial layer which is deposited upon a surface of the substrate and which is substantially free of grown-in defects caused by the presence of agglomerated silicon self-interstitial defects on the substrate surface upon which the epitaxial layer is deposited.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for the growth of a single crystal having excellent crystallinity, uniform quality in the inside thereof and hence excellently uniform optical properties, the method enabling an improvement in yields. The invention resides in a method for the growth of a single crystal of &bgr;-type barium borate (&bgr;-BaB2O4), the method comprising heating a crucible 6 indirectly to grow a &bgr;-BaB2O4 single crystal 21 from a melt of barium borate (BaB2O4) contained in the crucible and using no flux by using a seed crystal 9 of &bgr;-BaB2O4.

Abstract: A process and a device will produce a cylindrical single crystal of semicuctor material with the smallest possible alignment error of the crystal lattice. A process for cutting semiconductor wafers from two or more such single crystals is by means of wire sawing. The process for producing the single crystal is as follows: (a) a single crystal with an alignment error of the crystal lattice equal to at most 1.5.degree.

Abstract: A method is provided for stabilizing Czochralski (CZ) silicon melt by controlled oscillation of the crucible rotation during the stabilization period of the silicon melt to reduce the gas bubbles and unmelted polysilicon particles contained therein and thereby increase the yield and productivity of CZ silicon crystal production. The crucible rotation is controlled to follow an Oscillating Crucible Rotation (OCR) pattern or a saw tooth rotation pattern, which include rapid oscillations between a high rate of rotation and a low rate of rotation of the crucible during a period prior to the growth of the CZ crystal ingot.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for preparing a single crystal of silicon by which a high-quality single crystal of silicon can be prepared by changing the rotation rate of a crucible or a seed and a process for preparing a single crystal of silicon thereby. As compared with a conventional apparatus employing Czochralski method, which comprises a rotating axis of seed, a seed, a crucible, a heater, a rotary axis of crucible, a chamber and an adiabatic layer, the apparatus of the present invention is characterized by the improvement comprising means for controlling the rotation rate of the crucible or the seed, each of which consists of a D.C. voltage, a function generator, a voltage summing circuit and a stepping motor.

Abstract: Disclosed are a process for the production of solid solution single crystals of KTiOPO.sub.4 wherein a part or all of at least one of the elements, K, Ti and P is substituted with one or more other elements, which comprises moving a grown part(s) of crystal(s) to outside of a melt for the crystal growth while maintaining contact of a growing part(s) of the crystal(s) with said melt to obtain the above solid solution single crystals, wherein the moving is carried out while maintaining the temperature of the melt substantially constant and maintaining said melt at a substantially constant composition at which the solid solution single crystal(s) with the desired composition is precipitated at the above maintained temperature and a solid solution single crystal of KTiOPO4 wherein a part or all of at least one of the elements, K, Ti and P is substituted with one or more other elements and its composition is substantially homogeneous within its cubic portions of a side length of 1 cm.

Abstract: When a Si single crystal 8 is pulled up from a melt 6 received in a crucible 2, the state of eddy flows generated in the melt 6 is judged from the temperature distribution of the melt at the surface. According to the result of judgement, the gas, i.e. N.sub.2, Xe or Kr, which causes extraoridnary deviation in the density of a melt 6 is added to an atmospheric gas, so as to keep the eddy flows under unstabilized condition. The effect of said gas is typical in the case of crystal growth from the melt to which a dopant such as Ca, Sb, Al, As or In having the effect to suppress the extraordinary deviation in the density is added. Since the single crystal is pulled up from the melt held in the temperature-controlled condition at the surface, impurity distribution and oxygen distribution are made uniform along the direction of crystal growth. A single crystal obtained in this way has highly-stabilized quality.

Abstract: A method of growing a crack-free single crystal is disclosed which comprises heating raw materials in a crucible to thereby obtain a melt of the raw materials, contacting a lower end of a seed crystal with the melt and pulling the seed crystal to thereby grow a single crystal, and wherein the melt of the crucible flows from its surface toward its inner part inside the crucible by convection at a position locating outside a region where the growth of the single crystal occurs. This flow control can be achieved by, for example, surrounding the crucible with a heat insulation refractory composed of a pair of semicylindrical refractories disposed so as to provide a circular cross section with differently sized gaps. In the above-mentioned method, the seed crystal may be rotated during a shoulder growth in which the single crystal has its diameter increased from that of the seed crystal to a target diameter at a rotation rate greater than that during a subsequent cylindrical body growth.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for producing silicon single crystals with excellent dielectric strength of gate oxide films by adjusting the temperature gradient of the pulled-up silicon single crystal without loss of its rate of pulling. The process of producing silicon single crystals by pulling up the single crystal from a melt of material of the single crystal imposes a certain average temperature gradient on the grown single crystal while it is still at high temperature. The apparatus is provided with a heating element outside a crucible and pulling shaft with which a single crystal is pulled up from the melt of the material in the crucible. The ratio of length h of the heating element to the inside diameter .phi. of the crucible is adjusted so as to be between 0.2 and 0.8 whereby the temperature gradient can be maintained below 2.5.degree. C./mm.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for growing a crysrtal by the Czochralski method, in which a melt is disposed in a crucible, partitioned into an outer annular portion and an inner cylindrical portion by an annular separation element which is open at its bottom, the open bottom being spaced from the bottom of the crucible. The separation element is rotated on its vertical axis and a crystal is pulled from the melt in the inner cylindrical portion by raising a crystal holder, which is also rotated, in the vertical direction. The melt required for growing the crystal flows from the outer annular portion to the inner cylindrical portion over the entire cross-section of the inner cylindrical portion at the bottom of the annular separation element.

Abstract: A method of growing optical quality beta barium borate; crystals from a pure NaCl fluxed melt. The method comprises maintaining particular thermal field conditions throughout the melt and slowly cooling the melt to cause beta barium borate to crystallize from the melt. The rate of cooling may be at a rate of not greater than 3.degree. C. per day. The method may utilize a seed crystal, suspended into the melt, so that the beta barium borate may crystallize on the seed crystal.