A SiC epitaxial growth apparatus according to an embodiment includes a mounting stand on which a SiC wafer is mounted, and a furnace body which is configured to cover the mounting stand, and the furnace body includes a raw material gas supply port which is positioned so as to face the mounting stand and is configured to supply a raw material gas to the growth space, a first purge gas supply port which surrounds a vicinity of the raw material gas supply port and is configured to supply a purge gas to the growth space, and a second purge gas supply port which surrounds a vicinity of the first purge gas supply port and is configured to supply a purge gas to the growth space.

Provided is a single crystal growth crucible including a first housing and a second housing, in which a fitting portion between the first housing and the second housing has a first protruding portion, which is provided by protruding inner wall side of the first housing toward the second housing, and a second protruding portion, which is provided by protruding outer wall side of the second housing toward the first housing and covers an outer circumferential surface of the first protruding portion, the first protruding portion is formed such that an outer diameter of a tip portion thereof is larger than that of a base portion thereof in the protruding direction, and the second protruding portion is formed such that an inner diameter of a tip portion thereof is smaller than that of a base portion thereof in the protruding direction, the outer diameter of the tip portion of the first protruding portion is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the tip portion of the second protruding portion at room temperature, and the outer diameter of the tip portion of the first protruding portion is larger than the inner diameter of the tip portion of the second protruding portion at a single crystal growth temperature.

Methods for forming a unitized crucible assembly for holding a melt of silicon for forming a silicon ingot are disclosed. In some embodiments, the methods involve a porous crucible mold having a channel network with a bottom channel, an outer sidewall channel that extends from the bottom channel, and a central weir channel that extends from the bottom channel. A slip slurry may be added to the channel network and the liquid carrier of the slip slurry may be drawn into the mold. The resulting green body may be sintered to form the crucible assembly.

A cold crucible usable in the field of high-temperature production of monocrystalline materials. The cold crucible includes: a cold cage which has sectors made of a material having good electrical conductivity and in which a charge is melted, and a cooling device with heat transfer fluid, configured to cool each segment of the cold cage from the inside. The cold crucible is essentially such that it further includes at least one device for generating a static magnetic field, each generating device being housed inside one of the sectors of the cold crucible. Each static magnetic field thus generated having the effect of slowing down the electromagnetic stirring of the molten charge, such that it is possible to produce monocrystalline ingots of significantly larger diameter than the diameter of the seed initiating their growth.

An apparatus for growing a crystal includes a growth chamber and a melt chamber thermally isolated from the growth chamber. The growth chamber includes: a growth crucible configured to contain a liquid melt; and a die located in the growth crucible, the die having a die opening and one or more capillaries extending from within the growth crucible toward the die opening. The melt chamber includes: a melt crucible configured to receive feedstock material; and at least one heating element positioned within the melt chamber relative to the melt crucible to melt the feedstock material within the melt crucible to form the liquid melt. The apparatus also includes at least one capillary conveyor in fluid communication with the melt crucible and the growth crucible to transport the liquid melt from the melt crucible to the growth crucible.

A cold crucible having application in the field of making monocrystalline materials at high temperature. The cold crucible includes: a cold cage having sectors made of a good electrical conductor material and in which a charge is molten, and a cooling device with a heat-transfer fluid, configured so as to cool down, from inside, each segment of the cold cage. At least one sector of the cold crucible includes a housing and is removable, the housing being proper and intended to accommodate at least one so-called functionalising device of the cold crucible. Henceforth, it is possible to functionalise each sector independently of the others, by accommodating therein, a functionalising device configured, inter alia, so as to modify and/or analyse at least one property of the charge, in particular the molten charge, in the cold cage.

Methods for forming a unitized crucible assembly for holding a melt of silicon for forming a silicon ingot are disclosed. In some embodiments, the methods involve a porous crucible mold having a channel network with a bottom channel, an outer sidewall channel that extends from the bottom channel, and a central weir channel that extends from the bottom channel. A slip slurry may be added to the channel network and the liquid carrier of the slip slurry may be drawn into the mold. The resulting green body may be sintered to form the crucible assembly.

An apparatus for growing a crystal includes a growth chamber and a melt chamber thermally isolated from the growth chamber. The growth chamber includes: a growth crucible configured to contain a liquid melt; and a die located in the growth crucible, the die having a die opening and one or more capillaries extending from within the growth crucible toward the die opening. The melt chamber includes: a melt crucible configured to receive feedstock material; and at least one heating element positioned within the melt chamber relative to the melt crucible to melt the feedstock material within the melt crucible to form the liquid melt. The apparatus also includes at least one capillary conveyor in fluid communication with the melt crucible and the growth crucible to transport the liquid melt from the melt crucible to the growth crucible.

The invention relates to a crystal growing unit comprising a crucible for producing and/or enlarging a single crystal. The crystal growing unit has a first thermal insulation with a first thermal conductivity and a second thermal insulation with a second thermal conductivity. The crucible has a crucible base, a crucible side wall and a crucible cover. The crucible side wall is indirectly or directly surrounded by the first thermal insulation. The second thermal insulation is arranged indirectly or directly above the crucible cover. The second thermal conductivity is greater than the first thermal conductivity.

A method for producing Si ingot single crystal by NOC growth method including a Si ingot single crystal growing step and a continuous growing step is provided. The growing step includes providing a low temperature region in the Si melt where the Si ingot single crystal is grown along the surface of the Si melt or toward the inside of the Si melt, and the Si ingot single crystal has distribution of a vacancy concentration and an interstitial concentration in which respectively a vacancy concentration and an interstitial concentration vary with a distance from the growth interface; and adjusting a temperature gradient and a growth rate in the Si melt, so that along with the increasing of the distance from the growth interface, the vacancy concentration and the interstitial concentration in the Si ingot single crystal respectively decrease come near to each other.