A method of controlling a convection pattern of a silicon melt includes applying a horizontal magnetic field having an intensity of 0.2 tesla or more to the silicon melt in a rotating quartz crucible to fix a direction of a convection flow in a plane orthogonal to an application direction of the horizontal magnetic field in the silicon melt, the horizontal magnetic field being applied so that a central magnetic field line passes through a point horizontally offset from a center axis of the quartz crucible by 10 mm or more.

In a process for producing a silicon single crystal in which carbon is incorporated in order to inhibit crystal defects, provided is a process which easily allows carbon to be mixed and dissolved into a silicon melt. The process for producing a silicon single crystal, which involves allowing a silicon single crystal to grow during its pulling-up from the silicon melt held in a crucible, uses as at least part of a silicon raw material, crushed materials of a polycrystalline silicon rod produced by Siemens process that are obtained by crushing an end of the rod in the vicinity contacting a carbon core wire holding member.

In a process for producing a silicon single crystal in which carbon is incorporated in order to inhibit crystal defects, provided is a process which easily allows carbon to be mixed and dissolved into a silicon melt. The process for producing a silicon single crystal, which involves allowing a silicon single crystal to grow during its pulling-up from the silicon melt held in a crucible, uses as at least part of a silicon raw material, crushed materials of a polycrystalline silicon rod produced by Siemens process that are obtained by crushing an end of the rod in the vicinity contacting a carbon core wire holding member.

A method for producing a single crystal includes: bringing a seed crystal into contact with a dopant-added melt, in which a red phosphorus is added to a silicon melt, such that a resistivity of the single crystal is 0.9 mΩ.Math.cm or less and subsequently pulling up the seed crystal, to form a straight body of the single crystal; and withdrawing the single crystal from the dopant-added melt in a state that a temperature of an upper end of the straight body is 590 degrees C. or more.

A method for producing a single crystal includes: bringing a seed crystal into contact with a dopant-added melt, in which a red phosphorus is added to a silicon melt, such that a resistivity of the single crystal is 0.9 mΩ.Math.cm or less and subsequently pulling up the seed crystal, to form a straight body of the single crystal; and withdrawing the single crystal from the dopant-added melt in a state that a temperature of an upper end of the straight body is 590 degrees C. or more.

The present application provides an apparatus and a method for ingot growth. The apparatus for ingot growth comprises a growth furnace, a crucible, a heater, a lifting mechanism, an infrared detector, a dividing disc, a sensor and a control device. The crucible is located within the growth furnace. The lifting mechanism comprises a lifting wire and a driving device, wherein the lifting wire connects to the top of the ingot via one terminal and to the driving device via another terminal. The bottom of the ingot puts inside the crucible, and the ingot has plural crystal lines thereon. The infrared detector is located outside the growth furnace. The dividing disc is above the growth furnace, connects to the lifting mechanism, and rotates with the ingot synchronously under the driving of the lifting mechanism, and an orthographic projection of bisector of the dividing disc is between two adjacent crystal lines. The sensor is located on the periphery of the dividing disc. The control device connects to the infrared detector and the sensor in order to control the infrared detector to detect the ingot diameter while the sensor senses the bisector of the dividing disc. The present application is able to increase ingot quality and enhance product yield.

A method for producing the growth of a semiconductor material, in particular of type II-VI, uses a melt of the semiconductor placed in a sealed bulb under vacuum or under controlled atmosphere, the bulb being subjected to a sufficient temperature gradient for first maintaining the melt in the liquid state, then causing its progressive crystallization from the surface towards the bottom. The method further comprises an element capable of floating on the surface of the melt, and equipped with a substantially central bore, intended for receiving a seed crystal for permitting the nucleation leading to the preparation of a seed crystal, and also supporting the seed crystal above the melt while maintaining it in contact with the melt in order to permit the continued crystallization from the seed crystal by lowering the temperature gradient.

A method for producing a single crystal, wherein the space is adjusted to a predetermined distance by measuring a distance from a reference height position at a predetermined height above a melt surface to a lower end part of an in-furnace structure in a state wherein the in-furnace structure above the melt surface is installed in a pull chamber, obtaining a lower end part position error which is a difference between measured distance and a distance from the previously set reference height position to the lower end part of the in-furnace structure, obtaining a target distance from the melt surface to the reference height position by adding the lower end part position error and a distance from the reference height position to a melt surface position, and adjusting a distance from an initial position of the melt surface to the reference height position such that the target distance is attained.

A method for producing a single crystal, wherein the space is adjusted to a predetermined distance by measuring a distance from a reference height position at a predetermined height above a melt surface to a lower end part of an in-furnace structure in a state wherein the in-furnace structure above the melt surface is installed in a pull chamber, obtaining a lower end part position error which is a difference between measured distance and a distance from the previously set reference height position to the lower end part of the in-furnace structure, obtaining a target distance from the melt surface to the reference height position by adding the lower end part position error and a distance from the reference height position to a melt surface position, and adjusting a distance from an initial position of the melt surface to the reference height position such that the target distance is attained.

In this photoelectric conversion element wherein group III-IV compound semiconductor single crystals containing zinc as an impurity are used as a substrate, the substrate is increased in size without lowering conversion efficiency. A heat-resistant crucible is filled with raw material and a sealant, and the raw material and sealant are heated, thereby melting the raw material into a melt, softening the encapsulant, and covering the melt from the top with the encapsulant. The temperature inside the crucible is controlled such that the temperature of the top of the encapsulant relative to the bottom of the encapsulant becomes higher in a range that not equal or exceed the temperature of bottom of the encapsulant, and seed crystal is dipped in the melt and pulled upward with respect to the melt, thereby growing single crystals from the seed crystal. Thus, a large compound semiconductor wafer that is at least two inches in diameter and has a low dislocation density of 5,000 cm.sup.−2 can be obtained, despite having a low average zinc concentration of 5×10.sup.17 cm.sup.−3 to 3×10.sup.18 cm.sup.−3, at which a crystal hardening effect does not manifest.