Single-crystal fiber production equipment and single-crystal fiber production method

A single-crystal fiber production method for producing a single crystal fiber, the method comprising:

• irradiating an upper surface of a raw material rod with a collimated laser beam to form a melt;
• immersing a seed single crystal in the melt;
• and
• pulling the seed single crystal upward,
• wherein the upper surface of the raw material rod is irradiated with the laser beam such that the melt has a donut-shaped temperature distribution in which a temperature in a central portion of the melt is less than a temperature at a periphery of the melt.

A single-crystal fiber production equipment for producing a single crystal fiber by irradiating an upper surface of a raw material rod with a laser beam within a chamber to form a melt, immersing a seed single crystal in the melt, and pulling the seed single crystal upward, the single-crystal fiber production equipment comprising:

• a laser light source that emits the laser beam as a collimated beam;
• a pulling device configured to be upward and downward movable in a vertical direction with the seed single crystal held thereby;
• a flat reflector that reflects the laser beam such that the reflected laser beam is incident vertically on the upper surface of the raw material rod,
• a light guiding appliance that houses a laser beam introduction window of the chamber and the flat reflector, wherein an atmosphere gas is introduced into the chamber through the light guiding appliance, and
• the single-crystal fiber production equipment being configured for the upper surface of the raw material rod to be irradiated with the laser beam such that the melt has a donut-shaped temperature distribution.