Globalwafers Co., Ltd.

Corner Star Limited

Corner Start Limited

Sunedison, Inc.

Salvador Zepeda

Richard Joseph Phillips

William L Luter

Patrick Fredrick Boegemann, Iii

Tirumani N Swaminathan

Gaurab Samanta

John David Hilker

Steven Lawrence Kimbel

Christopher Vaughn Luers

Carissima Marie Hudson

John D Holder

Harold W Korb

Hariprasad Sreedharamurthy

Stephan Haringer

Benjamin Michael Meyer

Marco Zardoni

Steven John Ferguson

Patrick Fredrick Iii Boegemann

Steve J Ferguson

Benjamin M Meyer

A method for preparing semiconductor on insulator structures comprises transferring a thin layer of silicon from a donor substrate onto a handle substrate.

Method for transfer of a thin layer of silicon

Methods for forming a single crystal silicon ingot with reduced crucible erosion are disclosed. Solid-phase quartz is added to the melt to reduce erosion at the crucible-melt surface interface. The quartz may be synthetic quartz such as synthetic quartz rods. The quartz may be disposed near the crucible-melt surface interface. Quartz dissolves and suppresses the amount of quartz that dissolves from the crucible at the crucible-melt surface interface.

Methods for forming a single crystal silicon ingot with reduced crucible erosion

Methods for forming a unitized crucible assembly for holding a melt of silicon for forming a silicon ingot are disclosed. In some embodiments, the methods involve a porous crucible mold having a channel network with a bottom channel, an outer sidewall channel that extends from the bottom channel, and a central weir channel that extends from the bottom channel. A slip slurry may be added to the channel network and the liquid carrier of the slip slurry may be drawn into the mold. The resulting green body may be sintered to form the crucible assembly.

Methods for forming a unitized crucible assembly

Crucible molds

Methods for growing a reduced dislocation crystal ingot in an ingot growing system are disclosed. The system has a first crucible with a first base and a first sidewall extending upward from the first base to define an outer cavity. The method includes placing a weir in the outer cavity, placing a second crucible on the weir, placing feedstock material into the outer cavity, and melting the feedstock material to allow movement of the melt from the outer cavity inward of an intermediate cavity and into an inner cavity.

Methods for growing a crystal ingot with reduced dislocations from a crucible

A system for forming an ingot from a melt includes a first crucible defining a cavity for receiving the melt and a second crucible in the cavity. The second crucible separates an outer zone from an inner zone. The second crucible includes a passageway therethrough to allow the melt located within the outer zone to move into the inner zone. The inner zone defines a growth area for the ingot. The system also includes a barrier located within the outer zone to limit movement of the melt through the outer zone. The barrier includes members that are arranged to define a labyrinth for melt flow.

Crystal pulling system and method including crucible and barrier

Systems and methods for forming an ingot from a melt are disclosed. A system includes a crucible defining a cavity for receiving the melt, and a first and second barrier to inhibit movement of the melt. A first passageway and a second passageway are arranged to allow the melt located within an outer zone to move into and through a transition zone and into an inner zone. Conditioning members are placed in at least one of the zones and arranged to contact the melt to reduce the number of micro-voids in the melt.

System for forming an ingot including crucible and conditioning members

A crystal puller for growing a crystal ingot includes a housing, insulation, a crucible assembly, a heat shield, and a dust barrier. The housing encloses a growth chamber, and has an upper wall with an inner surface and an aperture. The insulation separates an inside of the housing into an upper area and a lower area, and has a central opening. The crucible assembly is within the lower area to contain the melt. The heat shield is adjacent the central opening of the insulation, and forms a labyrinth gas path with the crucible assembly. The dust barrier extends from the inner surface of the upper wall to one of the insulation and the heat shield, and forms a seal with the upper wall around the aperture to inhibit particles from entering the growth chamber through the upper area of the housing.

Crystal puller for inhibiting melt contamination

A system for growing an ingot from a melt includes a first crucible, a second crucible, and a weir. The first crucible has a first base and a first sidewall that form an outer cavity for containing the melt. The weir is located on top of the first base at a location inward from the first sidewall to inhibit movement of the melt from a location outward of the weir to a location inward of the weir. The second crucible is sized for placement within the outer cavity and has a second base and a second sidewall that form an inner cavity. Related methods are also disclosed.

Czochralski crucible for controlling oxygen and related methods

A system for growing an ingot from a melt includes an outer crucible, an inner crucible, and a weir. The outer crucible includes a first sidewall and a first base. The first sidewall and the first base define an outer cavity for containing the melt. The inner crucible is located within the outer cavity, and has a central longitudinal axis. The inner crucible includes a second sidewall and a second base having an opening therein. The opening in the second base is concentric with the central longitudinal axis. The weir is disposed between the outer crucible and the inner crucible for supporting the inner crucible.

Growing community of inventors

St. Peters, MO, United States of America

Salvador Zepeda