A method of growing a zirconia single crystal includes preparing a mixture of ZrO.sub.2 and Y.sub.2O.sub.3 for growing the zirconia single crystal, charging the raw material and a melting seed in a skull crucible for growing the zirconia single crystal using a high-frequency induction heating device, supplying power to the high-frequency induction heating device to melt the raw material, maintaining an output power of the high-frequency induction heating device to soak the melted raw material, first-elevating an induction coil of the high-frequency induction heating device to produce a seed, second-elevating the induction coil of the high-frequency induction heating device to grow a single crystal, cutting off power to the high-frequency induction heating device when completing growth of the zirconia single crystal, and cooling the zirconia single crystal. The method has excellent physical properties free from low-temperature degradation and thus enables precise machining.

A single-crystalline metal is created on a substrate by liquefying a metal material contained within a crucible while in contact with a surface of the substrate, cooling the metal material by causing a temperature gradient effected in the substrate in a direction that is neutral along the surface of the substrate and, therein, growing the single-crystalline metal in the crucible.

A crystalline silicon ingot and a method of fabricating the same are provided. The method utilizes a nucleation promotion layer to facilitate a plurality of silicon grains to nucleate on the nucleation promotion layer from a silicon melt and grow in a vertical direction into silicon grains until the silicon melt is completely solidified. The increment rate of defect density in the silicon ingot along the vertical direction has a range of 0.01%/mm10%/mm.

The invention relates to a shaped body comprising a substrate with a firmly adhering separating layer, wherein the separating layer comprises 92-98 wt. % silicon nitride (Si.sub.3N.sub.4) and 2-8 wt. % silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2) and wherein the separating layer has a total oxygen content of 8 wt. % and a hardness of at least 10 HB 2.5/3 according to DIN EN ISO 6506-1.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor includes providing a mold defining a planar capillary space; placing a measure of precursor in fluid communication with the capillary space; creating a vacuum around the mold and within the planar capillary space; melting the precursor; allowing the melted precursor to flow into the capillary space; and cooling the melted precursor within the mold such that the precursor forms a semiconductor, the operations of melting the precursor, allowing the precursor to flow into the capillary space, and cooling the melted precursor occurring in the vacuum.

A casting pattern for a lost-pattern casting, the pattern being in a shape of a turbine engine blade with a root and a body on either side of a platform that is substantially perpendicular to a main axis of the blade, and a method of producing a shell mold from the pattern, and a casting method using the shell mold. The blade body presents a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge. The pattern also includes an expansion strip adjacent to the trailing edge, and a refractory core embedded in the pattern but presenting, both on the pressure side and on the suction side, a respective flush varnished surface between the trailing edge and the expansion strip. A web extends between the platform and the expansion strip and presents a free edge between them.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for purifying materials using a fractional solidification. Devices and methods shown provide control over a temperature gradient and cooling rate during fractional solidification, which results in a material of higher purity. The apparatus and methods of the present invention can be used to make silicon material for use in solar applications such as solar cells.

Certain electronic applications, such as OLED display back panels, require small islands of high-quality semiconductor material distributed over a large area. This area can exceed the areas of crystalline semiconductor wafers that can be fabricated using the traditional boule-based techniques. This specification provides a method of fabricating a crystalline island of an island material, the method comprising depositing particles of the island material abutting a substrate, heating the substrate and the particles of the island material to melt and fuse the particles to form a molten globule, and cooling the substrate and the molten globule to crystallize the molten globule, thereby securing the crystalline island of the island material to the substrate. The method can also be used to fabricate arrays of crystalline islands, distributed over a large area, potentially exceeding the areas of crystalline semiconductor wafers that can be fabricated using boule-based techniques.

A hybrid crucible comprising a frame and a bottom plate. The crucible is characterized by the selection of material of these two components, which have been optimized in terms of thermal conductivity. The crucible is adapted to produce crystalline materials. Moreover, a method for producing crystalline material is disclosed.

A method of fabricating a poly-crystalline silicon ingot includes: (a) loading a nucleation promotion layer onto a bottom of a mold; (b) providing a silicon source on the nucleation promotion layer in the mold; (c) heating the mold until the silicon source is melted into a silicon melt completely; (d) controlling at least one thermal control parameter regarding the silicon melt continually to enable the silicon melt to nucleate on the nucleation promotion layer such that a plurality of silicon grains grow in the vertical direction; (e) controlling the at least one thermal control parameter to enable the plurality of the silicon grains to continuously grow with an average grain size increasing progressively in the vertical direction until entirety of the silicon melt is solidified to obtain the poly-crystalline silicon ingot, wherein the nucleation promotion layer is loaded by spreading a plurality of mono-Si particles over the bottom of the mold.