A method of producing silicon carbide is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing a sublimation furnace comprising a furnace shell, at least one heating element positioned outside the furnace shell, and a hot zone positioned inside the furnace shell surrounded by insulation. The hot zone comprises a crucible with a silicon carbide precursor positioned in the lower region and a silicon carbide seed positioned in the upper region. The hot zone is heated to sublimate the silicon carbide precursor, forming silicon carbide on the bottom surface of the silicon carbide seed. Also disclosed is the sublimation furnace to produce the silicon carbide as well as the resulting silicon carbide material.

A vapor phase epitaxial growth device comprises a reactor vessel and a wafer holder arranged within the reactor vessel. The wafer holder includes a wafer holding surface configured to hold a wafer with a wafer surface oriented substantially vertically downward. The device comprises a first material gas supply pipe configured to supply a first material gas and arranged below the wafer holding surface. The device comprises a second material gas supply pipe configured to supply a second material gas and arranged below the wafer holding surface. The device comprises a gas exhaust pipe configured to exhaust gases and arranged below the wafer holding surface. A distance between the gas exhaust pipe and an axis line passing through a center of the wafer holding surface is greater than distances between the axis line and each of the first material gas supply pipe and the second material gas supply pipe.

Methods for producing a single crystal silicon ingot are disclosed. The ingot is doped with boron using solid-phase boric acid as the source of boron. Boric acid may be used to counter-dope the ingot during ingot growth. Ingot puller apparatus that use a solid-phase dopant are also disclosed. The solid-phase dopant may be disposed in a receptacle that is moved closer to the surface of the melt or a vaporization unit may be used to produce a dopant gas from the solid-phase dopant.

Methods for producing a single crystal silicon ingot are disclosed. The ingot is doped with boron using solid-phase boric acid as the source of boron. Boric acid may be used to counter-dope the ingot during ingot growth. Ingot puller apparatus that use a solid-phase dopant are also disclosed. The solid-phase dopant may be disposed in a receptacle that is moved closer to the surface of the melt or a vaporization unit may be used to produce a dopant gas from the solid-phase dopant.

A vapor phase epitaxial growth device comprises a reactor vessel and a wafer holder arranged within the reactor vessel. The wafer holder includes a wafer holding surface configured to hold a wafer with a wafer surface oriented substantially vertically downward. The device comprises a first material gas supply pipe configured to supply a first material gas and arranged below the wafer holding surface. The device comprises a second material gas supply pipe configured to supply a second material gas and arranged below the wafer holding surface. The device comprises a gas exhaust pipe configured to exhaust gases and arranged below the wafer holding surface. A distance between the gas exhaust pipe and an axis line passing through a center of the wafer holding surface is greater than distances between the axis line and each of the first material gas supply pipe and the second material gas supply pipe.

The present disclosure provides a method for growing a seed crystal, including: obtaining a plurality of orthohexagonal seed crystals in a hexagonal crystal system by performing a first cutting on a plurality of seed crystals in the hexagonal crystal system to be expanded, respectively; splicing the plurality of orthohexagonal seed crystals in the hexagonal crystal system; obtaining a seed crystal in the hexagonal crystal system to be grown by performing a second cutting on the plurality of spliced orthohexagonal seed crystals in the hexagonal crystal system; obtaining an intermediate seed crystal in the hexagonal crystal system by performing a gap growth on the seed crystal in the hexagonal crystal system to be grown under a first setting condition; and obtaining a target seed crystal in the hexagonal crystal system by performing an epitaxial growth on the intermediate seed crystal in the hexagonal crystal system under a second setting condition.

The present disclosure provides a device for preparing a crystal and a method for growing a crystal. The device may include a growth chamber configured to execute a crystal growth; and a temperature control system configured to heat the growth chamber to cause that a radial temperature difference in the growth chamber does not exceed a first preset range of an average temperature in the growth chamber during the crystal growth. The method may include placing a seed crystal and a source material in a growth chamber to grow a crystal; and controlling a heating component based on information of a temperature sensing component, to cause that a radial temperature difference in the growth chamber does not exceed a first preset range of an average temperature in the growth chamber during a crystal growth.

A susceptor is disclosed that can increase a heat capacity of a susceptor outer peripheral portion by enlarging the thickness of the susceptor and equalize thermal conditions for an outer peripheral portion and the inner peripheral portion of a wafer and a method for manufacturing an epitaxial wafer that uses this susceptor to perform vapor-phase epitaxy of an epitaxial layer. Back surface depositions have a close relationship with heat transfer that occurs between a wafer and a susceptor, i.e., a wafer outer peripheral portion has a higher temperature than a wafer inner peripheral portion since the wafer is in contact with or close to the susceptor at the wafer outer peripheral portion and hence the back surface depositions are apt to be generated. This is solved by equalizing thermal conditions for the wafer outer peripheral portion and the inner peripheral portion of the wafer back surface.

Dust that is accumulated in an exhaust passage provided in a chamber, the exhaust passage for discharging gas in the chamber of a semiconductor crystal manufacturing device, is removed by being sucked from the outside of the chamber. Moreover, an opening and closing valve for cleaning that is detachably attached to an opening of the exhaust passage, the opening facing the chamber, is opened and closed intermittently in a suction state. Furthermore, the opening and closing valve for cleaning is driven by a valve driving unit. The dust accumulated in the exhaust passage is removed efficiently, whereby the time required to clean the exhaust passage is shortened and fluctuations of the pressure inside the chamber when a semiconductor crystal is manufactured are suppressed.

In an apparatus and method growing a SiC single crystal, a PVT growth apparatus is provided with a single crystal SiC seed and a SiC source material positioned in spaced relation in a growth crucible. A resistance heater heats the growth crucible such that the SiC source material sublimates and is transported via a temperature gradient that forms in the growth crucible in response to the heater heating the growth crucible to the single crystal SiC seed where the sublimated SiC source material condenses forming a growing SiC single crystal. Purely axial heat fluxes passing through the bottom and the top of the growth crucible form a flat isotherm at least at a growth interface of the growing SiC single crystal on the single crystal SiC seed.