Monocrystal growing apparatus

A monocrystal growing apparatus, comprising:

• a chamber-defining housing;
• an upper vertical shaft extending into said chamber-defining housing, said upper vertical shaft supporting one of a polycrystal rod and a seed crystal;
• a lower vertical shaft extending into said chamber-defining housing coaxially with said upper vertical shaft, said lower vertical shaft supporting the other of the polycrystal rod and the seed crystal;
• a heating means provided within said chamber-defining housing and melting a part of the polycrystal rod to produce a melt between the polycrystal rod and the seed crystal, the polycrystal rod and the seed crystal being rotated while the melt is progressively displaced relative to a length of the polycrystal rod provided adjacent the melt;
• means for introducing a doping gas into said chamber-defining housing;
• means, provided in said chamber-defining housing, for separating a remaining part of the polycrystal rod other than the melt from the atmosphere of the doping gas, said separation means containing the remaining part of the polycrystal rod and extending from an end remote from the melt of the polycrystal rod towards the melt along the polycrystal rod, said separation means terminating before the vertical position of the melt so that the melt is left outside said separation means and is exposed to the atmosphere of the doping gas;
• and
• means for passing an inert gas into said separation means so as to prevent the doping gas from invading said separation means, the monocrystal growing apparatus thereby building up a monocrystal having a constant impurity level along its longitudinal axis.