A production method of monocrystalline silicon includes: measuring an emissivity of an inner wall surface of a top chamber; and determining a target resistivity of monocrystalline silicon based on the emissivity measured in the measuring, thereby producing the monocrystalline silicon. In determining the target emissivity on a crystal center axis at a position for starting formation of a straight body of the monocrystalline silicon in the producing, when the emissivity is 0.4 or less, the target resistivity is determined to be less than a resistivity value of 3.0 mΩ.Math.cm when the dopant is arsenic.

A measurement system includes a reflector defining a central passage and an opening, a measurement assembly, and a controller. The measurement assembly includes a run pin having a head that is visible through the opening, a camera to capture images through the opening in the reflector, and a laser to transmit coherent light through the opening to the head of the run pin to produce a reflection of the run pin on the surface of the silicon melt. The controller is programmed to control the laser to direct coherent light from the laser to the run pin, control the camera capture images through the opening while the coherent light is directed at the run pin, and determine a distance between the surface of the silicon melt and a bottom surface of the reflector based on a location of the reflection of the run pin in the captured images.

A method and apparatus for manufacturing a silicon single crystal by pulling a silicon single crystal from a silicon melt in a quartz crucible, wherein images including a mirror image of the quartz crucible reflected on a melt surface of the silicon melt are acquired at predetermined time intervals, and deformation or eccentricity of the quartz crucible is evaluated from temporal changes of the position of the mirror image of the quartz crucible captured in a plurality of images that are acquired while the quartz crucible rotates at least once.

A method and apparatus for manufacturing a silicon single crystal by pulling a silicon single crystal from a silicon melt in a quartz crucible, wherein images including a mirror image of the quartz crucible reflected on a melt surface of the silicon melt are acquired at predetermined time intervals, and deformation or eccentricity of the quartz crucible is evaluated from temporal changes of the position of the mirror image of the quartz crucible captured in a plurality of images that are acquired while the quartz crucible rotates at least once.

An apparatus pulls a single crystal of semiconductor material by the Czochralski (CZ) method from a melt. The apparatus includes: a crucible that accommodates the melt; a resistance heater around the crucible; a camera system for observing a phase boundary between the melt and a growing single crystal, the camera system having an optical axis; a heat shield in frustoconical form with a narrowing diameter in a region at its lower end and arranged above the crucible and surrounding the growing single crystal; and an annular element, which is configured to capture particles, that projects inward from an inner side face of the heat shield and has an arrestor edge directed upward at an inner end of the annular element. The optical axis of the camera system runs between the arrestor edge and the growing single crystal. The annular element is releasably connected to the heat shield.

An apparatus pulls a single crystal of semiconductor material by the Czochralski (CZ) method from a melt. The apparatus includes: a crucible that accommodates the melt; a resistance heater around the crucible; a camera system for observing a phase boundary between the melt and a growing single crystal, the camera system having an optical axis; a heat shield in frustoconical form with a narrowing diameter in a region at its lower end and arranged above the crucible and surrounding the growing single crystal; and an annular element, which is configured to capture particles, that projects inward from an inner side face of the heat shield and has an arrestor edge directed upward at an inner end of the annular element. The optical axis of the camera system runs between the arrestor edge and the growing single crystal. The annular element is releasably connected to the heat shield.

Single crystal silicon cylindrical portions grown by the CZ method and highly doped with one or more n-type dopants so as to have a resistivity of not more than 2 mΩcm are prepared by directing dopant in a gas flow from an external sublimation apparatus into the pulling chamber through or below the heat shield, to the bottom of an annular ring of the heat shield and from there through a plurality of nozzles toward the surface of the melt.

Single crystal silicon cylindrical portions grown by the CZ method and highly doped with one or more n-type dopants so as to have a resistivity of not more than 2 mΩcm are prepared by directing dopant in a gas flow from an external sublimation apparatus into the pulling chamber through or below the heat shield, to the bottom of an annular ring of the heat shield and from there through a plurality of nozzles toward the surface of the melt.

An ingot growing apparatus is composed of a neck portion, a shoulder portion, a body portion, and a tail portion. The ingot growing apparatus comprises a memory configured to store an artificial neural network and a processor.

The processor learns the artificial neural network to obtain a primary shoulder shape model corresponding to training data, updates the obtained primary shoulder shape model based on shoulder information obtained during the growth of a shoulder portion of a first ingot to obtain a secondary shoulder shape model, sets a target tail temperature for growth a tail portion of the first ingot based on the secondary shoulder shape model, and controls the growth of the tail portion of the first ingot according to the set target tail temperature.

A crystal puller apparatus comprises a pulling assembly to pull a crystal from a silicon melt at a pull speed; a crucible that contains the silicon melt; a heat shield above a surface of the silicon melt; a lifter to change a gap between the heat shield and the surface of the silicon melt; and one or more computing devices to determine an adjustment to the gap using a Pv-Pi margin, at a given length of the crystal, in response to a change in the pull speed. The computer-implemented method by a computing device comprises determining a pull-speed command signal to control a diameter of the crystal; determining a lifter command signal to control a gap between a heat shield and a surface of a silicon melt from which the crystal is grown; and determining an adjustment to the gap, in response to a different pull-speed, using a Pv-Pi margin.