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US 8,317,920 B2Granted
Directional solidification furnace for reducing melt contamination and reducing wafer contamination
AssigneeMEMC Singapore Pte. Ltd.
InventorsSteven L. Kimbel, Jihong (John) Chen, Richard G. Schrenker, Lee W. Ferry
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A directional solidification furnace includes a crucible for holding molten silicon and a lid covering the crucible and forming an enclosure over the molten silicon. The crucible also includes an inlet in the lid for introducing inert gas above the molten silicon to inhibit contamination of the molten silicon.
Claims24
A directional solidification furnace comprising:
- a crucible for holding molten silicon;
- a lid covering the crucible and forming an enclosure over the molten silicon;
- an inlet in the lid for introducing inert gas above the molten silicon to inhibit contamination of the molten silicon;
- and
- a gap disposed outside the crucible and below a top edge of the crucible for venting the inert gas.
2 more elements
A directional solidification furnace comprising:
- a crucible for holding molten silicon;
- a crucible support for supporting the crucible;
- a lid covering the crucible and crucible support and forming an enclosure over the molten silicon;
- an inlet in the lid for introducing inert gas above the molten silicon;
- and
- a first gap and a second gap adjacent the lid, the first and second gaps defining a nonlinear flow path for facilitating removal of contaminants from the enclosure and allowing the inert gas to exit the enclosure.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.