Single crystal manufacturing apparatus and method
AssigneeNovel Crystal Technology, Inc.
InventorKimiyoshi Koshi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A single crystal manufacturing apparatus to grow a single crystal upward from a seed crystal, the apparatus including an insulated space thermally insulated from a space outside the single crystal manufacturing apparatus, an induction heating coil placed outside the insulated space, a thermal insulation plate that divides the insulated space into a first space including a crystal growth region to grow the single crystal and a second space above the first space and includes a hole above the crystal growth region, a heating element that is placed in the second space and generates heat by induction heating using the induction heating coil to heat the inside of the insulated space, and a support shaft to vertically movably support the seed crystal from below.
Claims12
A single crystal manufacturing apparatus to grow a single crystal upward from a seed crystal, the single crystal manufacturing apparatus comprising:
- an insulated space thermally insulated from a space outside the single crystal manufacturing apparatus;
- a thermal insulation material serving as a side wall of the insulated space;
- an outer wall surrounding at least the thermal insulation material;
- an induction heating coil placed outside the outer wall;
- a thermal insulation plate that divides the insulated space into a first space including a crystal growth region to grow the single crystal and a second space above the first space and comprises a hole above the crystal growth region;
- a heating element that is placed in the second space and generates heat by induction heating using the induction heating coil to heat the inside of the insulated space by radiation heat thereof;
- and
- a support shaft to vertically movably support the seed crystal from below.
A single crystal manufacturing method, comprising:
- placing a seed crystal in a first space of an insulated space divided into the first space and a second space above the first space by a thermal insulation plate comprising a hole so that the seed crystal is located below the hole;
- inductively heating a heating element placed in the second space by an induction heating coil placed outside the insulated space and melting an upper surface of the seed crystal by heat radiated from the heating element;
- feeding a melt of a raw material of a single crystal onto the molten upper surface of the seed crystal through the second space and the hole of the thermal insulation plate;
- and
- moving the seed crystal downward while continuously feeding the melt of the raw material and growing the single crystal upward from the seed crystal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.