Sumitomo Sitix Corporation

Nippon Steel Corporation

Mitsubishi Materials Corporation

Research Development Corporation of Japan

Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Komatsu Electronic Metals Co., Ltd.

Sumitomo Metal Industries, Inc.

Souroku Kawanishi

Shigeyuki Kimura

Atsushi Ikari

Hitoshi Sasaki

Koji Izunome

Shinji Togawa

Makoto Itou

Youichi Yamamoto

A method of growing a single crystal, comprises pulling a single crystal from molten material in a crucible by the Czochralski method; simultaneously applying an axially symmetric, radial cusp magnetic field to the molten material; and simultaneously heating the crucible from both the bottom and the sides; where a ratio of the heating from the bottom of the crucible, q, to the total heating of the crucible, Q, is q/Q, and during the pulling the ratio q/Q changes. The concentration of oxygen in the pulling direction of the crystal may be accurately controlled, and is uniform.

Process for producing single crystals

A method for melting a silicon starting material can suppress silica (SiO2) from melting out from a quartz crucible wherein the silicon starting material is melted and can provide a high-quality silicon single crystal in a high yield. The growth method comprises melting the silicon starting material charged in the crucible while applying thereto a static magnetic field, contacting a seed crystal to a surface of the silicon melt, and pulling the seed crystal upwardly to solidify the contacted melt. The silicon starting material charged in the crucible, which is under melting, is applied with a static magnetic field such as a Cusp magnetic field, a horizontal magnetic field and/or a vertical magnetic field. The application can control heat convection occurring in the crucible during the course of the melting of the starting material, thereby obtaining a silicon single crystal having a reduced number of dislocation defects.

Method for growing a silicon single crystal

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.

Growth of silicon crystal from melt having extraordinary eddy flows on

When a B or P-doped Si single crystal is pulled up from a B or P-doped melt by the Czochralski method, an element such as Ga, Sb or In having the effect to reduce the heat expansion coefficient of said melt at a temperature near the melting point is added to said melt. The additive element stabilizes the temperature condition of crystal growth so as to control the generation of eddy flows just below the interface of crystal growth. When a Ga or Sb-doped Si single crystal is pulled up from a Ga or Sb-doped melt, an element such as B or P having the effect to increase the heat expansion coefficient of said melt at a temperature near the melting point is added. The agitation of the melt just below the interface of crystal growth is accelerated by the addition of B or P, so as to assure the growth of a Si single crystal from the melt having impurity distribution made uniform along the radial direction. Accordingly, a Si single crystal is formed having a uniform impurity distribution along its lengthwise or radial direction.

Growth of silicon single crystal having uniform impurity distribution

When a single crystal is pulled up from a melt, the difference .DELTA.T between temperatures at the bottom of a crucible and at the interface of crystal growth is controlled so as to hold the Rayleigh constant defined by the formula of:

Growth of silicon single crystal

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Tsukuba, Japan

Souroku Kawanishi