Method for cleaning single crystal pulling apparatus, cleaning tool for use therein, and method for manufacturing single crystal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10000863-B2
Application number	US-201615544364-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 22, 2016
Priority date	Feb 3, 2015
Publication date	Jun 19, 2018
Grant date	Jun 19, 2018

Abstract

A method for cleaning a single crystal pulling apparatus according to the present invention includes preparing a dummy crucible that simulates a crucible and includes a dummy liquid surface simulating a liquid surface of material melt in the crucible and a first dummy ingot simulating a single crystal ingot in process of being pulled up from the liquid surface of the material melt, and supplying gas in a state in which the dummy crucible is installed in a decompressed chamber of the single crystal pulling apparatus to generate a flow of the gas affected by the dummy crucible and detach foreign substances adhering to a wall surface of the chamber or parts in the chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for cleaning a single crystal pulling apparatus including a cleaning step of preparing a dummy crucible that simulates a crucible and includes a dummy liquid surface simulating a liquid surface of material melt in the crucible and a first dummy ingot simulating a single crystal ingot in process of being pulled up from the liquid surface of the material melt, and
suppling gas in a state in which the dummy crucible is installed in a decompressed chamber of the single crystal pulling apparatus to generate a flow of the gas affected by the dummy crucible and detach foreign substances adhering to a wall surface of the chamber or parts in the chamber.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the single crystal pulling apparatus includes
a rotary support shaft that supports the crucible in the chamber in a liftable manner, and
a heat shielding body that is arranged above the rotary support shaft, and wherein
the cleaning step is performed by adjusting the height of the dummy crucible so that a first gap width between the dummy liquid surface and a lower end of the heat shielding body is substantially the same as a second gap width between the liquid surface of the material melt and the lower end of the heat shielding body in an actual single crystal pulling step, i.e., a possible gap width during actual pulling of a single crystal.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the dummy crucible is oscillated up and down in the cleaning step.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the dummy crucible is made of resin.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
a second dummy ingot that simulates a single crystal ingot is prepared, and
the gas is supplied in the cleaning step and in a state in which the second dummy ingot is hung in the chamber to generate a flow of the gas affected by the second dummy ingot and detach the foreign substance adhering to the wall surface of the chamber or the parts in the chamber.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the cleaning step is performed in a state in which the second dummy ingot is coupled to the first dummy ingot.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein
the chamber includes a main chamber and a pull chamber that is connected to a top opening of the main chamber, and
the cleaning step is performed in a state in which the second dummy ingot is arranged in the pull chamber.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 , wherein
the cleaning step is performed in a state in which the second dummy ingot is oscillated up and down independent of the dummy crucible.

9. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein
the single crystal pulling apparatus further includes a wire that is arranged coaxially with the rotary support shaft and has a hook attached to its end portion,
a ring fitting is attached to an end portion of the second dummy ingot, and
the hook is engaged with the ring fitting with play, whereby the second dummy ingot is coupled to a lower end of the wire.

10. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the second dummy ingot is made of resin.

11. A method for cleaning a single crystal pulling apparatus comprising a cleaning step of preparing a dummy ingot simulating a single crystal ingot, and supplying gas in a state in which the dummy ingot is hung in a decompressed chamber of the single crystal pulling apparatus to generate a flow of the gas affected by the dummy ingot and detach foreign substances adhering to a wall surface of the chamber or parts in the chamber.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the dummy ingot is oscillated up and down in the cleaning step.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the dummy ingot is made of resin.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the cleaning step is performed with temperature in the chamber set at normal temperature.

15. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the dummy ingot includes a shoulder section that increases gradually in diameter, and a body section that lies below the shoulder section and is maintained at a constant diameter, and wherein
the dummy ingot is pulled up in the cleaning step so that a lower end of the shoulder section passes through an opening in a lower end of a heat shielding body arranged in the chamber.

16. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the chamber includes a main chamber and a pull chamber that is connected to a top opening of the main chamber, and
the cleaning step is performed in a state in which the dummy ingot is arranged in the pull chamber.

17. The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein
the crucible for supporting material melt is installed in the chamber, and
the cleaning step is performed in the chamber under high temperature in which the material melt is actually pooled in the crucible.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the dummy ingot is oscillated up and down in the cleaning step.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the dummy ingot includes a shoulder section that increases gradually in diameter, and a body section that lies below the shoulder section and is maintained at a constant diameter, and wherein
the dummy ingot is pulled up in the cleaning step so that a lower end of the shoulder section passes through an opening in a lower end of a heat shielding body arranged above the crucible.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19 , wherein a height of the crucible is adjusted so that a height position of the crucible when the cleaning step is started is lower than a height position of the crucible when the single crystal pulling step is started.

21. The method as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the height of the crucible is adjusted so that when the lower end of the shoulder section is at the same height as that of the lower end of the heat shielding body in the cleaning step, a first gap width between a liquid surface of the material melt and the lower end of the heat shielding body is substantially the same as a second gap width between the liquid surface of the material melt and the lower end of the heat shielding body in the actual single crystal pulling step.

22. The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the cleaning step is performed after raw material is additionally charged into the crucible.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the raw material is additionally charged by using a charging pipe connected to a lower end of a pull shaft for pulling up a single crystal and then the cleaning step is performed by replacing the charging pipe with the dummy ingot.

24. The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the crucible is made of quartz, and the dummy ingot is made of at least one material selected from silicon, quartz, carbon, silicon carbide, and molybdenum.

25. The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the dummy ingot has a hollow structure.

26. A cleaning tool of a silicon single crystal pulling apparatus comprising:
a dummy crucible that simulates a crucible for use in pulling a single crystal;
a dummy liquid surface that simulates a liquid surface of material melt in the crucible; and
a first dummy ingot that simulates a single crystal ingot in process of being pulled up from the liquid surface of the material melt.

27. The cleaning tool as claimed in claim 26 further comprising a second dummy ingot that simulates a single crystal ingot, wherein
an upper end portion of the first dummy

Assignees

• Sumco Corp

Inventors

• Okita Kenji

Classifications

• B08B5/02

  Cleaning by the force of jets, e.g. blowing-out cavities {(airguns or nozzles per se B05B1/005)} · CPC title

• B08B9/08

  Cleaning containers, e.g. tanks · CPC title

• C30B29/06

  Silicon · CPC title

• C30B15/00 Primary

  Single-crystal growth by pulling from a melt, e.g. Czochralski method (under a protective fluid C30B27/00) · CPC title

• C30B35/00 Primary

  Apparatus not otherwise provided for, specially adapted for the growth, production or after-treatment of single crystals or of a homogeneous polycrystalline material with defined structure · CPC title