Abstract: Method for crystal growth from a surfactant of a metal-nonmetal (MN) compound, including the procedures of providing a seed crystal, introducing atoms of a first metal to the seed crystal thus forming a thin liquid metal wetting layer on a surface of the seed crystal, setting a temperature of the seed crystal below a minimal temperature required for dissolving MN molecules in the wetting layer and above a melting point of the first metal, each one of the MN molecules being formed from an atom of a second metal and an atom of a first nonmetal, introducing the MN molecules which form an MN surfactant monolayer, thereby facilitating a formation of the wetting layer between the MN surfactant monolayer and the surface of the seed crystal, and regulating a thickness of the wetting layer, thereby growing an epitaxial layer of the MN compound on the seed crystal.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method for fabricating a substrate in semiconductor material characterized in that it comprises the steps of: starting from a donor substrate in a first semiconductor material at an initial temperature, contacting a surface of the donor substrate with a bath of a second semiconductor material held in the liquid state at a temperature higher than the initial temperature, the second semiconductor material being chosen so that its melting point is equal to or lower than the melting point of the first semiconductor material, solidifying the bath material on the surface to thicken the donor substrate with a solidified layer. The invention also concerns a device for implementing the method.

Abstract: In a method for monitoring and controlling crystal growth during a crystal growing procedure, heights of a plurality of measuring points on a solid-liquid interface of a crystal material disposed in a crucible are measured, and at least one parameter of the crystal growing procedure is optimized based on the measured heights, so that the solid-liquid interface maintains a dome shape with a predetermined curvature during the crystal growing procedure.

Abstract: A method and device for producing metal foils using the foil-casting principle includes the steps of filling a casting frame with liquid metal, moving a substrate through the bottom of the casting frame, with the substrate belt being at a lower temperature than the melting point of the liquid metal in the bottom of the casting frame, so that a bottom layer of the liquid metal crystallizes on the substrate and a metal foil is formed on the substrate on one side of the casting frame. The method further includes the steps of measuring at least one of a thickness and weight of the metal foil, and adjusting the contact surface area between the liquid metal and the substrate as a function of the measured value for the thickness and/or weight of the foils produced.

Abstract: A wafer slicing method includes winding a wire around rollers and pressing the wire against an ingot while supplying slurry to the rollers. A previously conducted experiment provides a supply temperature profile of the slurry during the slicing process and the relationship to the axial displacement of the rollers. This relationship is used to implement slurry delivery during the slicing process. The resultant wafers are bowed in a uniform direction. This slicing method provides excellent reproducibility in addition to producing wafers that are bowed in a uniform direction.

Abstract: Homogeneity residuals of the refractive index have a strong influence on the performance of lithography tools for both 193 and 157 nm application wavelengths. By systematic investigations of various defects in the real structure of CaF2 crystals, the origin of homogeneity residuals can be shown. Based on a quantitative analysis we define limiting values for the individual defects which can be either tolerated or controlled by optimized process steps, e.g. annealing. These correlations were carried out for all three relevant main crystal lattice orientations of CaF2 blanks. In conclusion we achieved a strong improvement of the critical parameters of both refractive index homogeneity and striae for large size lens blanks up to 270 mm diameter.

Abstract: A patterned layer is formed by removing nanoscale passivating particle from a first plurality of nanoscale structural particles or by adding nanoscale passivating particles to the first plurality of nanoscale structural particles. Each of a second plurality of nanoscale structural particles is deposited on each of corresponding ones of the first plurality of nanoscale structural particles that is not passivated by one of the plurality of nanoscale passivating particles.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for preparing a single crystal silicon ingot, as well as to the ingot or wafer resulting therefrom. In one embodiment, the process comprises controlling the growth velocity, v, and the effective or corrected axial temperature gradient, as defined herein, such that, within a given segment of the ingot, the ratio v/Geffective, or v/Gcorrected, is substantially near the critical value thereof over a substantial portion of the radius of that segment, and controlling the cooling rate of the segment between (i) solidification and about 1250° C., and (ii) about 1250° C. and about 1000° C., in order to manipulate the effect of the lateral incorporation of intrinsic point defects therein, and thus limit the formation of agglomerated intrinsic point defects and/or oxygen precipitate clusters in a ring extending radially inward from about the lateral surface of the ingot segment.

Abstract: Techniques for predicting the behavior of dopant and defect components in a substrate lattice formed from a substrate material can be implemented in hardware or software. Fundamental data for a set of microscopic processes that can occur during one or more material processing operations is obtained. Such data can include data representing the kinetics of processes in the set of microscopic processes and the energetics and structure of possible states in the material processing operations. From the fundamental data and a set of external conditions, distributions of dopant and defect components in the substrate lattice are predicted.

Abstract: In the method and apparatus for measuring the position of the phase interface during growth of a crystal from a melt in a crystal growth container according to the VGF method an incident optical signal is propagated to the phase interface between the melt and the crystal through a window (16) in the container (10) and a received optical signal reflected from the phase interface (14) is measured to determine the position of the phase interface. The position of the phase interface is established from the reflected signal by triangulation with a confocal optic system, by interferometric balancing or by transit time of the optical signal. The window (16) is preferably mounted in a preferably tilted orientation at the end of a tube (15), which is immersed in the melt (12).

Abstract: Computer programs and computer-implemented methods for predicting from first principles the behavior of dopants and defects in the processing of electronic materials. The distribution of dopant and defect components in a substrate lattice is predicted based on external conditions and fundamental data for a set of microscopic processes that can occur during material processing operations. The concentration behavior of one or more fast components is calculated in two stages, by solving a first relationship for a time period before the fast component reaches a pseudo steady state at which the concentration of the fast component is determined by concentrations of one or more second components, and by solving a second relationship for a time period after the first component reaches the pseudo steady state. Application of these methods to modeling ultrashallow junction processing is also described.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for the crystallization of substances having a narrow metastable supersaturation zone. In the process the saturation of a solution is gradually increased and the solution is seeded for the crystallization. The seeding is performed at a seeding point which is selected in response to a signal received from said process indicating imminent or initial spontaneous nucleation. The process provides a good crystal yield and a crystalline product having a uniform crystal structure and a narrow crystal size distribution.

Abstract: The present invention probides a novel method for fabricating a semiconductor super-atom and an aggregate thereof, which allows the formation of a semiconductor nano-structure with a diameter in the order of 10 nm, which is meant for constituting a core, and allows the doping of impurity atoms only to the core portion with the number of the impurity atoms being controlled.

Abstract: A liquid phase growth apparatus of a dipping system has a plurality of liquid phase growth chambers and liquid phase growth operations of semiconductors are carried out on a plurality of substrates in the growth chambers. Another liquid phase growth apparatus of the dipping system has a liquid phase growth chamber and an annealing chamber, and is constructed in such structure that liquid phase growth of a semiconductor on one substrate is carried out in the liquid phase growth chamber and that an annealing operation of another substrate different from the aforementioned substrate is carried out in the annealing chamber. Another liquid phase growth apparatus of the dipping system has a liquid phase growth chamber and an annealing chamber, and is constructed in such structure that a semiconductor material is dissolved into a solvent in the liquid phase growth chamber and that the annealing operation of a substrate is carried out in the annealing chamber.

Abstract: A method is used when manufacturing a bismuth-substituted rare-earth iron garnet single crystal (BIG) film by the LPE method. The BIG film is grown on one side of a non-magnetic garnet substrate using a melt that contains flux components and rare-earth oxides. An amount of calcium is added to the melt such that a difference between optical absorption coefficients of the film at a wavelength of 0.78 .mu.m before and after subjecting the film to hydrogen-reduction treatment ranges from 660 to 1430 dB/cm. The film is grown on a non-magnetic garnet substrate having a thickness in the range of 400-600 .mu.m, at a crystal growth temperature of the melt to form a film-substrate structure. The film-substrate structure has a curvature ranging from +0.3 to +0.7 m.sup.-1 at room temperature. The film-substrate structure is subjected to the hydrogen reduction at a temperature ranging from 320 to 400.degree. C.

Abstract: By applying the method, the critical film thickness of a compound semiconductor layer is determined, and a semiconductor device having a compound semiconductor layer with an optimized film thickness excellent in emitting performance is manufactured.The relationship between film thickness of a compound semiconductor layer and photoluminescence (PL) corresponding to the film thickness is obtained by measurement, the film thickness where PL exhibits a peak is designated as critical film thickness. The semiconductor layer comprises II-VI group compound semiconductor layer containing at least cadmium. The relationship between the critical film thickness and cadmium composition ratio is obtained by measurement. An equation which approximates the relationship between the critical film thickness and cadmium composition ratio is formulated.