An object of the present invention is to provide a novel SiC single crystal with reduced internal stress while suppressing SiC sublimation. In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for producing SiC single crystals, including a stress reduction step of heating a SiC single crystal at 1800° C. or higher in an atmosphere containing Si and C elements to reduce internal stress in the SiC single crystal. With this configuration, the present invention can provide a novel SiC single crystal with reduced internal stress while suppressing SiC sublimation.

A system for simultaneously manufacturing more than one single crystal of a semiconductor material by physical vapor transport (PVT) includes a plurality of reactors and a common vacuum channel connecting at least a pair of reactors of the plurality of reactors. Each reactor has an inner chamber adapted to accommodate a PVT growth structure for growth of a single semiconductor crystal. The common vacuum channel is connectable to a vacuum pump system for creating and/or controlling a common gas phase condition in the inner chambers of the pair of reactors.

Various embodiments of the present technology enable growth of a-axis oriented barium titanate (BTO) films by inserting a relaxed strain control layer having a larger lattice constant than the c-axis of BTO and a similar thermal expansion mismatch. As a result, in-plane tensile stress causes BTO to grow with its ferroelectric polarization in-plane. Some embodiments allow for BTO films to immediately be grown on silicon with a-axis orientation, and without the need to create thick layers for relaxation. Using various embodiments of the present technology, the BTO can be grown in-plane with minimal dislocation density that is confined to the interface region.

A manufacturing method for a group-III nitride crystal, the manufacturing method includes: preparing a seed substrate; increasing temperature of the seed substrate placed in a nurturing chamber; and supplying a group-III element oxide gas produced in a raw material chamber connected to the nurturing chamber by a connecting pipe and a nitrogen element-containing gas into the nurturing chamber to grow a group-III nitride crystal on the seed substrate, wherein a flow amount y of a carrier gas supplied into the raw material chamber at the temperature increase step satisfies following two relational equations (I) and (II), y<[1−k*H(Ts)]/[k*H(Ts)−j*H(Tg)]j*H(Tg)*t (I), y≥1.58*10.sup.−4*(22.4/28)S*F(N)/F(T) (II), wherein k represents an arrival rate to a saturated vapor pressure of a group-III element in the raw material chamber, Ts represents a temperature of the raw material chamber, Tg represents a temperature of the nurturing chamber, H(Ts) represents a saturated vapor pressure of the group-III element at the temperature Ts in the raw material chamber, H(Tg) represents a saturated vapor pressure of the group-III element at the temperature Tg in the nurturing chamber, j represents a corrective coefficient, t represents a sum of gas flow amounts flowing into the nurturing chamber from those other than the raw material chamber, S represents a cross-sectional area of the connecting pipe, F(N) represents a volumetric flow amount of the nitrogen element-containing gas supplied into the nurturing chamber, and F(T) represents a sum of volumetric flow amounts of gases supplied into the nurturing chamber from those other than the raw material chamber.

A method of single crystal growth includes disposing a polycrystalline source material in a chamber of a single crystal growth apparatus, disposing a seed layer in the chamber of the single crystal growth apparatus, wherein the seed layer is fixed below a lid of the single crystal growth apparatus, heating the polycrystalline source material by a heater of the single crystal growth apparatus to deposit a semiconductor material layer on the seed layer, and after depositing the semiconductor material layer, providing a coolant gas at a backside of the lid to cool down the seed layer and the semiconductor material layer.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to forming an epitaxial layer of aluminum on an aluminum-nitride compound. The aluminum is epitaxially grown on the crystalline aluminum-nitride compound by maintaining temperature of a crystalline aluminum-nitride compound below a cluster-favoring temperature threshold within a vacuum chamber. Then, the crystalline aluminum-nitride compound is exposed to atoms of elemental aluminum for a predetermined time duration. The aluminum is epitaxially grown in this fashion for a predetermined time duration so as to produce a layer of epitaxial aluminum of a predetermined thickness. Such epitaxially-grown mono-crystalline aluminum has a lower resistivity than poly-crystalline aluminum.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatus, systems, and methods for in-situ film growth rate monitoring. A thickness of a film on a substrate is monitored during a substrate processing operation that deposits the film on the substrate. The thickness is monitored while the substrate processing operation is conducted. The monitoring includes directing light in a direction toward a crystalline coupon. The direction is perpendicular to a heating direction. In one implementation, a reflectometer system to monitor film growth during substrate processing operations includes a first block that includes a first inner surface. The reflectometer system includes a light emitter disposed in the first block and oriented toward the first inner surface, and a light receiver disposed in the first block and oriented toward the first inner surface. The reflectometer system includes a second block opposing the first block.

A method for simultaneously manufacturing more than one single crystal of a semiconductor material by physical vapor transport (PVT) includes connecting a pair of reactors to a vacuum pump system by a common vacuum channel and creating and/or controlling, with the vacuum pump system, a common gas phase condition in the inner chambers of the pair of reactors. Each reactor has an inner chamber adapted to accommodate a PVT growth structure for growth of a semiconductor single crystal.

The disclosure provides a silicon carbide seed crystal and a method of manufacturing a silicon carbide ingot. The silicon carbide seed crystal has a silicon surface and a carbon surface opposite to the silicon surface. A difference D between a basal plane dislocation density BPD1 of the silicon surface and a basal plane dislocation density BPD2 of the carbon surface satisfies the following formula (1), a local thickness variation (LTV) of the silicon carbide seed crystal is 2.5 μm or less, and a stacking fault (SF) density of the silicon carbide seed crystal is 10 EA/cm.sup.2 or less:

D=(BPD1−BPD2)/BPD1≤25%  (1).

A silicon carbide single crystal has a first main surface, a second main surface, a first silicon carbide region, and a second silicon carbide region. The first silicon carbide region and the second silicon carbide region each include a silicon carbide single crystal of 4H polytype. A value obtained by dividing the number of void defects in the first silicon carbide region by the sum of the number of the void defects in the first silicon carbide region and the number of void defects in the second silicon carbide region is 0.8 or more. In a cross section parallel to the first main surface, the void defect each have a major axis of 1 μm to 1000 μm.