Shin-etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.

Koji Mizuishi

Michiaki Oda

Hirotoshi Yamagishi

Masanori Kimura

Eiichi Iino

Kiyotaka Takano

Atsushi Iwasaki

Seiichiro Ohtsuka

Yasushi Nakamura

Katsuhiko Ogino

Izumi Fusegawa

Fumio Yamada

Tomohiko Ohta

Masahiko Urano

Yoshihiro Hirano

Nobuo Katsuoka

Naoki Nagai

Toshiharu Uesugi

Isamu Harada

Tetsuhiro Oda

Kouzou Yokota

Shigemaru Maeda

Tadashi Niwayama

Atsushi Shiozawa

Masahiro Mashimo

Tooru Ohara

Eizi Namiki

Shinichi Furuse

Kiyataka Takano

The present invention provides a catch pan for melt leakage provided under a crucible at a bottom portion of a chamber in a single crystal pulling apparatus based on the CZ method, wherein the catch pan for melt leakage comprises at least a bottom portion and a barrel portion, and the bottom portion and the barrel portion are connected by screw-fitting or by using a tap bolt. There is provided a catch pan for melt leakage provided in a single crystal pulling apparatus, which can, even if a melt flows out of the crucible by a certain possible cause in a CZ method single crystal pulling apparatus, prevent the melt flowed out from reaching lower mechanisms including metal parts, piping and so forth, and thereby prevent bad influences on operators and peripheral equipments.

Catch pan for melt leakage in apparatus for pulling single crystal

A silicon monocrystal is manufactured according to the continuously charged Czochralski method in which a double crucible is used which includes an outer crucible and an inner crucible which communicate with each other through pores. A dopant is charged to the silicon melt stored in the double crucible before commencing pulling of a silicon monocrystal such that the ratio of the dopant concentration of the silicon melt stored in the outer crucible to the dopant concentration of the silicon melt stored in the inner crucible becomes greater than an effective segregation coefficient of the dopant. The silicon monocrystal is then pulled while silicon material is charged to the silicon melt within the outer crucible, during which the dopant concentration ratio becomes equal to the effective segregation coefficient and then becomes smaller than the effective segregation coefficient. When the dopant concentration ratio becomes smaller than the effective segregation coefficient, the dopant is charged to the silicon melt stored in the outer crucible. The above operation is repeated, so that the specific resistance of the silicon monocrystal pulled from the double crucible can be controlled within a desired range using commonly-employed dopant.

Method of manufacturing silicon monocrystal by continuously charged

A single crystal pulling apparatus which eliminates trouble caused by an isolation valve heated to a high temperature uses a heat insulation plate provided below the isolation valve. The heat insulation plate is operated synchronously with the opening or closing of the isolation valve. The heat insulation plate prevents hot gases from coming from the lower chamber from coming into direct contact with the isolation valve. The prevention of overheating of the isolation valve provides for smooth operation and growth of a good quality single crystal.

Single crystal pulling apparatus

Arranged is a covering plate which closes and opens an entrance of a valve container between a lower chamber and an upper chamber, the lower chamber containing a crucible and the upper chamber containing a wire to pull a single crystal. The covering plate is contained in a circle-shaped space portion within a wall by closing and opening means. The covering plate closes the entrance so that an isolation valve is protected. Since at the time of opening the entrance the covering plate is contained within the wall without contacting with the wall, the fall of dusts produced by peeling off of a film deposited on the wall can be prevented. Furthermore, the covering plate is contained in a circle-shaped space portion without exposing the front and back surfaces thereof to the air.

An apparatus for continuously supplying granular polycrystal silicon to a crucible of a semiconductor single crystal pulling apparatus, comprising a funnel-shaped tank having a relatively large capacity, a main hopper having a relatively small capacity and weight, a subhopper having an intermediate capacity and weight and providing a passage from said tank to said main hopper, and a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the main hopper, wherein the overall weight of the main hopper is measured to obtain the flow rate (supply rate) of the granular polycrystal silicon.

Apparatus for supplying granular raw material for a semiconductor single

A device for pulling a silicon single crystal is constructed so as to preclude deposition of a SiO-derived substance on graphite parts inside the device and prevent the graphite parts from deterioration, elongate the duration of continuous use of the device in a great measure, and simplify the disassembly and reassembly of the device. This device pulls a silicon single crystal in an atmosphere of inert gas by the Czochralski method, which device is chracterized by comprising a crucible 1 for accommodating a molten silicon mass 2, a heater 3 disposed round the periphery of the crucible 1, an outer member 14 forming a pulling chamber 6 for accomodating the crucible 1, an inert gas inlet part 15 disposed in the upper part of the pulling chamber 6, and an inert gas outlet part 16 separated from the inert gas inlet part 15 in the same upper part of the pulling chamber 6.

Device for pulling silicon single crystal

An isolation valve for a single crystal pulling apparatus providing a good sealing performance is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a casing having two opposite valve seats, a first valve seat having a first opening communicable with the main chamber of the apparatus, a second valve seat having a second opening communicable with the pull chamber of the apparatus. The body of the isolation valve includes a first plate movable in and out of contact with the first valve seat to open and shut the first opening, a second plate movable in and out of contact with the second valve seat to open and shut the second opening, and a bellows connecting the first and second plates. The isolation valve also comprises a holder holding the first plate out of contact with the first valve seat when the first plate is opposite to the first valve seat, a passage communicable with a fluid supply and the interior of the valve body, and a controller controlling the pressure of a working fluid supplied from the fluid supply into the interior of the valve body. The controller has a first set pressure at which the first and second plates are in contact with the first and second valve seats and a second set pressure at which the first and second plates are out of contact with the first and second valve seats.

Isolation valve for single crystal pulling apparatus

A single crystal pulling apparatus of the Czochralski method type wherein the cylindrical heater is supported not only by the two existing electrodes which are vertically shiftable but also by one or more vertical shafts, which may be electrodes or electrically insulated dummy electrodes; the vertical shafts are capable of shifting vertically in synchronism with the existing two electrodes, and are arranged in a manner such that the existing two electrodes and the vertical shafts are at regular intervals along the bottom circumference of the cylindrical heater.

Aa single crystal pulling apparatus installed on a frame body further includes a second frame body which is founded independently from the main chamber to rigidly support the winder assembly, and a hermetical and flexible tube which is provided between the winder assembly and the pull chamber to prevent any stress and vibration from travelling from the winder assembly to the pull chamber and vice versa, while providing a communication passage between the winder assembly and the pull chamber.

An apparatus for producing a single crystal grown by Czochralski method includes a winding drum disposed in a case for winding up and down a flexible pull wire, a power transmission mechanism for driving the winding drum, and a bearing unit for rotatably supporting the winding drum. The power transmission mechanism and the bearing unit are disposed outside the case and isolated from the furnace atmosphere surrounding the winding drum and the pull wire in the case. With this construction, metallic dust produced by abrasion from the power transmission mechanism and the bearing unit has no influence on the condition of the furnace atmosphere and hence the quality of a single crystal being pulled upwardly by the pull wire.

Apparatus for producing Czochralski-grown single crystals

A Czochralski-type single crystal pulling apparatus in which the heater device is adapted to shift vertically, and a control device is provided for controlling the vertical shifting of the heater and the crucible assembly in predetermined manners, of which a preferred manner is to control the vertical shifting of the heater and the crucible assembly such that the vertical velocities of the crucible assembly and the heater are in direct proportion to the vertical velocity of the pull means.

A single crystal pulling apparatus having a wire which is used to pull a crystal is provided with a novel wire vibration prevention mechanism. The wire vibration prevention mechanism includes wire restriction devices which restrict the movement of the wire to movement in the vertical direction. The wire restriction devices may be mechanically driven in the horizontal direction in order to center the pulled crystal. The wire restriction devices are driven by pneumatic air cylinders. Use of the wire vibration prevention mechanism avoids the formation of deformed growth of the pulled crystal and thus reduces the occurrence of dislocations in the pulled crystal.

Wire vibration prevention mechanism for a single crystal pulling

An isolation valve used in a single crystal pulling apparatus, having a frame (11), a vertical passageway for communication between a main chamber and an upper pull chamber of the single crystal pulling apparatus, a shaft (13) capable of turning about its axis and reciprocating vertically, a lever (20) for turning the shaft, a drive means (18) for reciprocating the shaft (13), an arm (14) fixed to the shaft (13), a circular shutter (15) held by the arm (14) for closing and opening the vertical passageway, and a flange (9) defining a hole which communicates the passageway with the main chamber, wherein a cylindrical cavity is made in the bottom of the circular shutter (15); the flange (9) has a circular raised rim (9b) extending upward whose outer diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical cavity of the shutter; and an endless circular seal means (17) is embedded partially in either the external vertical wall of the raised rim (9b) of the flange or the internal vertical wall of the shutter (15).

Growing community of inventors

Annaka, Japan

Koji Mizuishi