Abstract: The present invention aims to provide a piezoelectric composition which is free of lead based compounds and is represented by the following formula (1), (Bi0.5xNa0.5xBa0.7y+zCa0.3y)a(Tix+y+0.8zHf0.2z)O3 (1), wherein, x, y, z and a in formula (1) meets the following conditions, 0.70x0.90, 0.02y0.28, 0.02z0.28, 0.90a1.10 and x+y+z=1. The present invention also provides a piezoelectric device having the piezoelectric composition mentioned above.

Abstract: An original wafer, typically silicon, has the form of a desired end PV wafer. The original may be made by rapid solidification or CVD. It has small grains. It is encapsulated in a clean thin film, which contains and protects the silicon when recrystallized to create a larger grain structure. The capsule can be made by heating a wafer in the presence of oxygen, or steam, resulting in silicon dioxide on the outer surface, typically 1-2 microns. At least one support element supports the wafer at the time the capsule is provided and blocks only minimal surface area from contact with the film forming atmosphere. There may be a plurality of support elements, or a surface may provide such support. The capsule contains the molten material during recrystallization, and protects against impurities. Recrystallization may be in air. After recrystallization, the capsule is removed.

Abstract: An apparatus to pump a melt is disclosed. The pump has a chamber that defines a cavity configured to hold the melt. A gas source is in fluid communication with the chamber. A first valve is between the chamber and a first pipe and a second valve is between the chamber and a second pipe. The valves may be check valves in one embodiment.

Abstract: A method of horizontal ribbon growth from a melt includes forming a leading edge of the ribbon using radiative cooling on a surface of the melt, drawing the ribbon in a first direction along the surface of the melt, and removing heat radiated from the melt in a region adjacent the leading edge of the ribbon at a heat removal rate that is greater than a heat flow through the melt into the ribbon.

Abstract: A medical device such as a wire guide has a lubricious and/or therapeutic coating adhered to an etched, carbonaceous polymeric surface, for example a sodium-etched polymer surface. A method for preparing a lubricious and/or therapeutic coating on a medical device includes etching a polymeric portion of the device to create a carbonaceous surface and applying a lubricious and/or therapeutic coating on the etched surface.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for the continuous production of semiconductor ribbons by growth from a linear molten zone. The creation of the molten zone is achieved by application of an electric current, direct or alternating, parallel to the surface of the ribbon and perpendicular to the direction of growth, and intense enough to melt the said material, preferably using electrodes of the said material. The molten zone is fed by transference of the material, in the liquid state, from one or more reservoirs, where melting of the feedstock occurs. Preferably, the said electrodes and the said reservoir(s) are only constituted by the said material, thus avoiding contamination by foreign materials. The present invention is applicable, for example, in the industry of silicon ribbons production for photovoltaic application.

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.

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.

Abstract: Provided is a MgO single crystal for obtaining a magnesium oxide (MgO) single crystal deposition material which is prevented from splashing during the vapor deposition in, e.g., an electron beam deposition method without reducing the deposition rate, and for obtaining a MgO single crystal substrate which can form thereon, e.g., a superconductor thin film having excellent superconducting properties. A MgO single crystal having a calcium content of 150×10?6 to 1,000×10?6 kg/kg and a silicon content of 10×10?6 kg/kg or less, wherein the MgO single crystal has a variation of 30% or less in terms of a CV value in detected amounts of calcium fragment ions, as analyzed by TOF-SIMS with respect to the polished surface of the MgO single crystal. A MgO single crystal deposition material and a MgO single crystal substrate for forming a thin film obtained from the MgO single crystal.

Abstract: Metallurgical grade silicon or high purity silicon beads developed from a fluidized bed process are melted in a cooled aluminum crucible, such that a non wetted interface is created between the molten silicon and a cooled supporting substrate that includes a surface layer of substantially inert aluminum oxide. It is believed that the molten silicon does not wet the surface of the supporting substrate and the surface of the supporting substrate does not chemically interact with the silicon. It is shown that, in spite of the enormous temperature difference, molten silicon (ca. 1450° C.) can be stabilized, by appropriate energy control, in direct (but non-wetted) contact with cold (ca. 40° C.) material such as aluminum.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for making a source material into a crystal fiber having different regions of polarization inversion. The apparatus of the present invention is similar to a laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG) apparatus, characterized in that a first electric field generating device and a second electric field generating device are included. The first electric field generating device is used for providing a first external electric field which is used for poling the crystal fiber and inducing micro-swing of the crystal fiber. The second electric field generating device is disposed on a predetermined position above the first electric field generating device for providing a second external electric field to control and maintain the amplitude of the micro-swing. Whereby, the growth condition of the crystal fiber can be controlled precisely, and a uniformly and regularly periodic polarization inversion structure is fabricated.

Abstract: A mask with sub-resolution aperture features and a method for smoothing an annealed surface using a sub-resolution mask pattern are provided. The method comprises: supplying a laser beam having a first wavelength; supplying a mask with a first mask section having apertures with a first dimension and a second mask section with apertures having a second dimension, less than the first dimension; applying a laser beam having a first energy density to a substrate region; melting a substrate region in response to the first energy density; crystallizing the substrate region; applying a diffracted laser beam to the substrate region; and, in response to the diffracted laser beam, smoothing the substrate region surface. In some aspects of the method, applying a diffracted laser beam to the substrate area includes applying a diffracted laser beam having a second energy density, less than the first energy density, to the substrate region.

Abstract: A crystalline semiconductor film, the crystalline semiconductor film being formed over an insulative substrate, and including semiconductor crystal grains laterally grown along a surface of the insulative substrate, wherein the laterally-grown semiconductor crystal grains are in contact with each other at grain boundaries, and a distance between adjacent grain boundaries is equal to or smaller than two times a lateral growth distance of the semiconductor crystal grains.

Abstract: Monolithic stacked/layered room-temperature-processed materials whose internal crystalline structures are laser modification to create arrays of mechanical, and combined mechanical and electrical, devices with precision-established properties, such as important mechanical properties. Methodology and system configurations are disclosed.

Abstract: Thin-film laser-effected internal crystalline structure modified materials suitable for the creation of various small-dimension mechanical devices, either singly or in monolithic arrays, such as MEMS devices. Processing is carried out at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.

Abstract: Laser processing of various materials to create mechanical devices whose internal mechanical properties are provided in final useable form by adjustments made in internal crystalline structure.

Abstract: Semiconductor materials such as silicon particles are doped by mixing the semiconductor material with a solution having a dopan and a solvent. The solvent is removed from the wetted surface of the particles of the semiconductor material, thereby yielding particles that are substantially free from the solvent and are uniformly coated with the dopant.

Abstract: An inexpensive sheet with excellent evenness and a desired uniform thickness can be obtained by cooling a base having protrusions, dipping the surfaces of the protrusions of the cooled base into a melt material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material for crystal growth of the material on the surfaces of the protrusions. In addition, by rotating a roller having on its peripheral surface protrusions and a cooling portion for cooling said protrusions, the surfaces of the cooled protrusions can be dipped into a melt material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material for crystal growth of the material on the surfaces of the protrusions. Thus, a sheet with a desired uniform thickness can be obtained without slicing process.

Abstract: A single-crystal structure is grown using free-form fabrication through principles of directional solidification and direct-deposition techniques. The structure is formed from a metallic alloy by building from feedstock on top of and upward from a heated base element. The top of the structure is also heated with a scanning beam as it is built. The higher temperatures near the melting alloy tend to promote crystal growth rather than nucleation as the grain grows toward the heat of the scanning beam. This allows a two-dimensional thermal gradient to be formed in the build direction, which allows the solid crystal to maintain one orientation during the deposition process. As the material initially solidifies, it nucleates off of a desired grain that is designated by a grain selector. This method eliminates the need for expensive mold cavities and segmented furnaces that are typically required by prior art processes for producing some components.

Abstract: For producing ultra pure materials a first station has a porous gas distributor. A material supply supplies material to the porous gas distributor. A gas source supplies gas to the distributor and through the distributor to the material in contact with the distributor. A heater adjacent the porous gas distributor heats and melts the material as gas is passed through the material. Dopant and a treatment liquid is or solid supplied to the material. Treated material is discharged from the first station into a second station. A second porous gas distributor in the second station distributes gas through the material in the second station. A crucible receives molten material from the second station for casting, crystal growing in the crucible or for refilling other casting or crystal growth crucibles. The material and the porous gas distributor move with respect to each other. One porous gas distributor is cylindrical and is tipped.

Abstract: Amorphous or polycrystalline films have been recrystallized into single-crystal thin films (of micrometer thickness) by a zone melting technique, in which an electrically heated wire generated a narrow heated or molten zone (0.5-2 mm wide) on the substrate sandwiched between two pieces of glass or indium-tin-oxide-coated glass. The substrate can be either an organic or inorganic compound. When the molten zone was moved slowly (3-120 ?m/min) across the layer from one end of the cell to the other, a single-crystal film was produced after a single pass. This technique allows for thin film purification and an improvement in electronic, optical, and optoelectronic properties of the thin film. After this treatment, the steady-state short-circuit photocurrent can be improved by several orders of magnitude. These films are useful in the fields of optics and electronics for improving the performance in devices such as thin-film transistors and organic light-emitting diodes.

Abstract: A perovskite compound of the formula, (Na1/2Bi1/2)1-xMx(Ti1-yM′y)O3±z, where M is one or more of Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb, Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Th, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu; and M′ is one or more of Zr, Hf, Sn, Ge, Mg, Zn, Al, Sc, Ga, Nb, Mo, Sb, Ta, W, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co and Ni, and 0.01<x<0.3, and 0.01<y<0.3, and z<0.1 functions as an electromechanically active material. The material may possess electrostrictive or piezoelectric characteristics.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for concurrent growth of multiple crystalline ribbons from a single crucible employ meniscus shapers to facilitate continuous growth of discrete and substantially flat crystalline ribbons having controlled width.

Abstract: A polycrystal thin film forming method comprising the step of forming a semiconductor thin film on a substrate 14, and the step of flowing a heated gas to the semiconductor thin film while an energy beam 38 is being applied to the semiconductor thin film at a region to which the gas is being applied to thereby melt the semiconductor film, and crystallizing the semiconductor thin film in its solidification. The energy beam is applied while the high-temperature gas is being flowed, whereby the melted semiconductor thin film can have low solidification rate, whereby the polycrystal thin film can have large crystal grain diameters and can have good quality of little defects in crystal grains and little twins.

Abstract: An inexpensive sheet with excellent evenness and a desired uniform thickness can be obtained by cooling a base having protrusions, dipping the surfaces of the protrusions of the cooled base into a melt material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material for crystal growth of the material on the surfaces of the protrusions. In addition, by rotating a roller having on its peripheral surface protrusions and a cooling portion for cooling said protrusions, the surfaces of the cooled protrusions can be dipped into a melt material containing at least one of a metal material and a semiconductor material for crystal growth of the material on the surfaces of the protrusions. Thus, a sheet with a desired uniform thickness can be obtained without slicing process.

Abstract: A method is provided for maintaining a planar surface as crystal grains are laterally grown in the fabrication of crystallized silicon films. The method comprises: forming a film of amorphous silicon with a surface and a plurality of areas; irradiating each adjacent areas of the silicon film with a first sequence of laser pulses; and, in response to the first sequence of laser pulses, controlling the planarization of the silicon film surface between adjacent areas of the silicon film as the crystal grains are laterally grown. By controlling the number of laser pulses in the sequence, the temporal separation between pulses, and the relative intensity of the pulses, the lateral growth length characteristics of the crystal grains can be traded against the silicon film flatness. A silicon film formed by a pulsed laser sequence crystallization process is also provided.

Abstract: A seed crystal is lowered toward a melt, and a contact between the seed crystal and the melt is detected using an image captured by an imaging device. The temperature of the melt is adjusted to keep a meniscus of the melt in contact with the seed crystal. The temperature of the melt is then lowered to create a wingout extending from the seed crystal. The length and symmetry of the wingout is detected with an image captured by the imaging device, and a ribbon of crystal following the wingout starts to be lifted from the melt.

Abstract: The invention features a method of continuous crystalline growth. A granular source material is introduced into a hopper. A volume of the granular source material exiting the hopper is disposed on a translationally moving belt. The volume of the granular source material forms an angle of repose with the moving belt. The granular source material disposed on the moving belt is continuously fed into a crucible comprising a melt of the granular source material at a rate based on the angle of repose, the speed of the belt, and the size of the opening of the hopper. A crystalline ribbon is continuously grown by solidifying the melt.

Abstract: The invention features a method of continuous crystalline growth. A granular source material is introduced into a hopper. A volume of the granular source material exiting the hopper is disposed on a translationally moving belt. The volume of the granular source material forms an angle of repose with the moving belt. The granular source material disposed on the moving belt is continuously fed into a crucible comprising a melt of the granular source material at a rate based on the angle of repose, the speed of the belt, and the size of the opening of the hopper. A crystalline ribbon is continuously grown by solidifying the melt.

Abstract: The present invention provides a cerium-containing magnetic garnet single crystal having a size large enough to use as a material for optical communication of an isolator and for an electronic device, and a production method therefor. The cerium-containing magnetic garnet single crystal of the present invention is obtained by melting a cerium-containing magnetic garnet polycrystal while applying a sharp, large temperature gradient to the solid-liquid interface of the melt and the solid, and then solidifying the melted polycrystal. The polycrystal is preferably heated by using an optical heating device, for example, a combination of a main heating device using a laser beam, and an auxiliary heating device using reflected light from a halogen lamp.

Abstract: Reactive gas is released through a crystal source material or melt to react with impurities and carry the impurities away as gaseous products or as precipitates or in light or heavy form. The gaseous products are removed by vacuum and the heavy products fall to the bottom of the melt. Light products rise to the top of the melt. After purifying, dopants are added to the melt. The melt moves away from the heater and the crystal is formed. Subsequent heating zones re-melt and refine the crystal, and a dopant is added in a final heating zone. The crystal is divided, and divided portions of the crystal are re-heated for heat treating and annealing.

Abstract: High purity semiconductor foils, such as silicon foils useful in solar energy cells, are produced by treating an impure semiconductor foil with at least one reactive gas while in the crystallizing state.

Abstract: The invention relates to the formation of arrays of thin film transistors (TFT's) on silicon substrates and the dicing and tiling of such substrates for transfer to a common module body. TFT's activate display electrodes formed adjacent the transistors after the tiles have been transferred. The invention can be used in a liquid crystal display and may include one or more light shielding layers.