Device for manufacturing semiconductor or metallic oxide ingot

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9528195-B2
Application number	US-201214239227-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 17, 2012
Priority date	Aug 18, 2011
Publication date	Dec 27, 2016
Grant date	Dec 27, 2016

Abstract

Provided is an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor or metal oxide ingot by sequentially inducing a liquid-to-solid phase transition of a liquid raw material following a solidification direction, the apparatus including: a crucible containing a semiconductor or metal oxide raw material; a cooling unit spaced apart from the crucible at a predetermined distance in a vertical direction, when a height direction of the crucible is designated by the vertical direction and a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction is designated by a horizontal direction; a first heating unit spaced apart from the crucible at a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction and surrounding a circumferential surface of the crucible; and an insulating member provided between the crucible and the cooling unit in the horizontal direction, a position of the insulating member being shifted by a shifting unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor or metal oxide ingot by sequentially inducing a liquid-to-solid phase transition of a liquid raw material following a solidification direction, the apparatus comprising:
a crucible containing a semiconductor or metal oxide raw material;
a cooling unit spaced apart from the crucible at a predetermined distance in a vertical direction, and conveyed by a cooling unit conveyer in a vertical direction, when a height direction of the crucible is designated by the vertical direction and a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction is designated by a horizontal direction;
a first heating unit spaced apart from the crucible at a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction and surrounding a circumferential surface of the crucible; and
an insulating member provided between the crucible and the cooling unit in the horizontal direction, a position of the insulating member being shifted by a shifting unit; and
a control unit controlling the shifting unit to shift the position of the insulating member, and the cooling unit conveyer,

wherein the control unit controls the respective positions of two or more flat plates, made of an insulating material, constituting the insulating member according to the progress degree of solidification, and controls the spaced distance between the crucible and the cooling unit, when the raw material is melted and sequentially solidified by the heating unit and the cooling unit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls respective positions of flat plates, constituting the insulating member, according to the progress degree of solidification, where 10% or less of progress of solidification is referred to as the initial stage of solidification, 10-60% of solidification progress of solidification is referred to as the middle stage of solidification, and 60% or more of progress of solidification is referred to as the last stage of solidification, based on the total volume of raw material, to thereby control a total thickness in the vertical direction of the insulating member according to the position between the crucible and the cooling unit.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls respective positions of flat plates, constituting the insulating member, to thereby shield a lower portion of the crucible when the raw material is melted, and form a penetration hole between the crucible and the cooling unit according to the progress degree of solidification, where 10% or less of progress of solidification is referred to as the initial stage of solidification, 10-60% of solidification progress of solidification is referred to as the middle stage of solidification, and 60% or more of progress of solidification is referred to as the last stage of solidification, based on the total volume of raw material.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the two or more flat plates are different from each other in view of at least one factor selected from thickness, shape, size, and material thereof.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the insulating member is shifted in the horizontal direction by the shifting unit.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a second heating unit spaced apart from the crucible at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction such that the second heating unit faces the cooling unit in the vertical direction with the crucible therebetween.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the insulating member includes two or more flat plates made of an insulating material, the two or more insulating flat plates being positioned in the same plane or different planes in the vertical direction.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein at least portions of the insulating flat plates are closely contacted with each other in the vertical direction, in the case where the two or more flat plates are positioned in the different planes.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the two or more flat plates are N pieces formed by dividing a polygonal plate, a polygonal plate that is hollowed, a circular plate, or a circular plate that is hollowed, into N (N=natural number of 2 or greater).

10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the two or more flat plates each are independently a polygonal plate, a polygonal plate that is hollowed, a circular plate, or a circular plate that is hollowed.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor is silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs).

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide is sapphire (Al 2 O 3 ).

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the insulating member includes two or more flat plates made of an insulating material, the two or more insulating flat plates being positioned in the same plane or different planes in the vertical direction.

14. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the insulating member includes two or more flat plates made of an insulating material, the two or more insulating flat plates being positioned in the same plane or different planes in the vertical direction.

15. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the insulating member includes two or more flat plates made of an insulating material, the two or more insulating flat plates being positioned in the same plane or different planes in the vertical direction.

16. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the insulating member includes two or more flat plates made of an insulating material, the two or more insulating flat plates being positioned in the same plane or different planes in the vertical direction.

17. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the insulating member includes two or more flat plates made of an insulating material, the two or more insulating flat plates being positioned in the same plane or different planes in the vertical direction.

Assignees

• Moon Sang Jin
• So Won Wook
• Park Dong Soon
• Koo Myung Hoi
• Korea Res Inst Chemical Tech

Inventors

• Moon Sang Jin
• So Won Wook
• Park Dong Soon
• Koo Myung Hoi

Classifications

• H10P95/00

  Generic processes or apparatus for manufacture or treatments not covered by the other groups of this subclass · CPC title

• H10F10/00

  Individual photovoltaic cells, e.g. solar cells (electrolytic light-sensitive devices, e.g. dye-sensitised solar cells, H01G9/20) · CPC title

• C30B29/40

  AIIIBV compounds {wherein A is B, Al, Ga, In or Tl and B is N, P, As, Sb or Bi} · CPC title

• C30B11/006

  Controlling or regulating · CPC title

• C30B29/06

  Silicon · CPC title