The present invention aims at providing an auxiliary heating device for a zone melting furnace and a heat preservation method for a single crystal rod thereof. The auxiliary heating device comprises an auxiliary heater disposed below a high-frequency heating coil inside the zone melting furnace and is formed by winding a hollow metal circular pipe. The winding start end of the auxiliary heater is positioned on the upper part, the winding stop end of the auxiliary heating device is positioned on the lower part, and an upper end part and a lower end part are respectively guided out from the both ends; and a hollow cylindrical heating load is disposed on the inner side of the auxiliary heater, and an insulation part is disposed between the heating load and the auxiliary heater. The present invention can solve the problem of single crystal rod cracking caused by unreasonable distribution of the thermal field and overlarge thermal stress in the growth process of zone-melted silicon single crystals over 6.5 inches.

The present invention aims at providing an auxiliary heating device for a zone melting furnace and a heat preservation method for a single crystal rod thereof. The auxiliary heating device comprises an auxiliary heater disposed below a high-frequency heating coil inside the zone melting furnace and is formed by winding a hollow metal circular pipe. The winding start end of the auxiliary heater is positioned on the upper part, the winding stop end of the auxiliary heating device is positioned on the lower part, and an upper end part and a lower end part are respectively guided out from the both ends; and a hollow cylindrical heating load is disposed on the inner side of the auxiliary heater, and an insulation part is disposed between the heating load and the auxiliary heater. The present invention can solve the problem of single crystal rod cracking caused by unreasonable distribution of the thermal field and overlarge thermal stress in the growth process of zone-melted silicon single crystals over 6.5 inches.

A growing single crystal is supported in the region of a conical section of the single crystal via a supporting body during crystallization of the single crystal by the FZ method. The method comprises pressing the supporting body against the conical section of the growing single crystal at a temperature at which a first material of the supporting body becomes soft, and continuing pressing the supporting body against the conical section of the growing single crystal until the first material and a second material of the supporting body that remains hard at the cited temperature touch the conical section of the growing single crystal.

The invention relates to a method and a device for pulling a monocrystalline silicon rod in a pulling system for zone melting, the method comprising the following steps: (I) providing a stock rod made of silicon, which comprises an azimuthal groove at one end; (2) attaching a lower part, which comprises three gripping arms, each gripping arm being shaped such that one end fits into the azimuthal groove of the stock rod and another end is rotatably attached to the lower part; (3) suspending the lower part, together with the stock rod, on an upper part, which contains a connecting element connected to a pulling shaft of the zone-melting pulling system, such that the upper part and the lower part are radially interlockingly connected to each other, the upper part comprising an element for radial orientation, and three length-adjustable spacing elements being attached to the upper part such that the spacing elements can apply force to respective gripping arms; (4) moving the element for radial orientation such that the axis of rotation of the stock rod at the end at which the groove is located corresponds to the axis of rotation of the pulling shaft; (5) setting the length-adjustable spacing elements such that the axis of rotation of the stock rod at the end remote from the groove corresponds to the axis of rotation of the pulling shaft; (6) pulling a conical part of a monocrystalline rod; (7) pulling a cylindrical part of the monocrystalline rod.

Granular silicon which is especially useful in reducing dislocations and gas inclusions of single crystals prepared therefrom is produced by a heat treatment in which a process gas flowing through a plasma chamber heats granular silicon, and the heated granular silicon is transported counter-currently through the plasma chamber, melting an outer periphery of the granular silicon, which then recrystallizes, producing an exterior with a lower concentration of crystal grains than the interior of the granules.

Granular silicon which is especially useful in reducing dislocations and gas inclusions of single crystals prepared therefrom is produced by a heat treatment in which a process gas flowing through a plasma chamber heats granular silicon, and the heated granular silicon is transported counter-currently through the plasma chamber, melting an outer periphery of the granular silicon, which then recrystallizes, producing an exterior with a lower concentration of crystal grains than the interior of the granules.

A single crystal production apparatus (and a single crystal production method) is configured to produce a single crystal by approaching a raw material M gripped by a raw material grip portion, and a seed crystal S gripped by a seed crystal grip portion by disposing the raw material grip portion and the seed crystal grip portion mutually in a vertical direction and approaching both of them each other, and forming a melting zone M1 by making a portion melted by heating the raw material M by a heating part in contact with the seed crystal S, and cooling the melting zone, wherein the heating part has an infrared generating part, and the seed crystal grip portion is disposed at a vertically top position, and the raw material grip portion is disposed at a vertically bottom position.

Provided is a novel solid electrolyte material of high density and high ionic conductivity, and an all-solid-state lithium ion secondary battery that utilizes the solid electrolyte material. The solid electrolyte material has a chemical composition represented by Li.sub.7-3xGa.sub.xLa.sub.3Zr.sub.2O.sub.12 (0.08x<0.5), has a relative density of 99% or higher, belongs to space group I-43d, in the cubic system, and has a garnet-type structure. The lithium ion conductivity of the solid electrolyte material is 2.010.sup.3 S/cm or higher. The solid electrolyte material has a lattice constant a such that 1.29 nma1.30 nm, and lithium ions occupy the 12a site, the 12b site and two types of 48e site, and gallium occupies the 12a site and the 12b site, in the crystal structure. The all-solid-state lithium ion secondary battery has a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a solid electrolyte. The solid electrolyte is made up of the solid electrolyte material of the present invention.

Provided is a novel solid electrolyte material of high density and high ionic conductivity, and an all-solid-state lithium ion secondary battery that utilizes the solid electrolyte material. The solid electrolyte material has a chemical composition represented by Li.sub.7-3xGa.sub.xLa.sub.3Zr.sub.2O.sub.12 (0.08x<0.5), has a relative density of 99% or higher, belongs to space group I-43d, in the cubic system, and has a garnet-type structure. The lithium ion conductivity of the solid electrolyte material is 2.010.sup.3 S/cm or higher. The solid electrolyte material has a lattice constant a such that 1.29 nma1.30 nm, and lithium ions occupy the 12a site, the 12b site and two types of 48e site, and gallium occupies the 12a site and the 12b site, in the crystal structure. The all-solid-state lithium ion secondary battery has a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a solid electrolyte. The solid electrolyte is made up of the solid electrolyte material of the present invention.

Scanning Laser Epitaxy (SLE) is a layer-by-layer additive manufacturing process that allows for the fabrication of three-dimensional objects with specified microstructure through the controlled melting and re-solidification of a metal powders placed atop a base substrate. SLE can be used to repair single crystal (SX) turbine airfoils, for example, as well as the manufacture functionally graded turbine components. The SLE process is capable of creating equiaxed, directionally solidified, and SX structures. Real-time feedback control schemes based upon an offline model can be used both to create specified defect free microstructures and to improve the repeatability of the process. Control schemes can be used based upon temperature data feedback provided at high frame rate by a thermal imaging camera as well as a melt-pool viewing video microscope. A real-time control scheme can deliver the capability of creating engine ready net shape turbine components from raw powder material.