Method and Apparatus for Single Crystal Pulling Downwardly From the Lower Surface of a Floating Melt

This invention relates to single crystal growth from a melt.

It is common to grow crystals from a melt by pulling. Known techniques for crystal pulling are the Czochralski process and the Liquid Encapsulated Czochralski process. In these processes, a seed crystal is contacted to the upper surface of the melt and pulled upwardly to grow a crystal. Crystal quality grown by the Czochralski processes is degraded by convective flows in the melt and axial thermal asymmetry within the hot zone of the crystal rowth apparatus. Oftentimes, the melt container and crystal are rotated during crystal growth to ameliorate the effects of the thermal asymmetry and optimize the heat and mass transfer in the melt

The method for growing a single crystal from a melt according to the invention includes floatin the melt on a liquid encapsulent whose density is greater than the density of the melt. The crystal is pulled downwardly through the encapsulent during the rowth process. The apparatus includes a container for holdin the melt which floats on the denser liquid encapsulent. A pulling shaft includin a seed crystal extends upwardly throuh the encapsulent to contact the melt. The shaft is then withdrawn downwardly, without or with rotation, to grow the crystal. The melt is heated from above to provide stabilizing temperature gradients. The container holding the melt and encapsulent may be pressurized to prevent evaporation of a volatile component of a compound.

The single FIGURE of the drawing is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus for growing a single crystal.

With reference to the FIGURE, an apparatus 10 for growing a single crystal includes a container 12 having an upper cylindrical portion 14 and a lower cylindrical section, or neck, 16. The diameter of the neck is somewhat larger than the diameter of the crystal to be grown. The container 12 is preferably made of guartz or pyrolytic boron nitride, PBN. The container 12 is radially insulated with graphite foils and graphite felt 18. The container 12 is mounted within a tank 20 which is preferably water jacketed and made of stainless steel. The tank 20 includes a quartz viewing window 22, an inert gas inlet 24, and a vacuum line 26. Feedthroughs are also provided for electrical power (not shown) and for pulling shaft 28 made of metal or quartz. The shaft 28 includes a plug portion 30 for sealing the container 12. The plug 30 may be made of metal or quartz.

In operation, a polycrystalline charge 32 is loaded into the container 12 from the bottom through the neck portion 16. Next, an encapsulent 34 having a density higher than that of the charge or melt 32 is loaded into the container 12 through the neck portion 16 and sealed with the plug 30. A suitable encapsulent is Bi.sub.2 O.sub.3. A heater 36 heats the top surface of the melt 32. Heat is extracted from the bottom surface of the melt 32 through the crystal and the encapsulant.

To grow a crystal such as a crystal 38, a seed crystal 40, held at the end of the pulling shaft 28 is raised through the encapsulent 34 until it touches the bottom surface of the melt 32. The shaft 28 is then slowly extracted downwardly to grow the neck, shoulders, body, and tail of the crystal 38 in a fashion similar to Czochralski crystal pullers.

The apparatus 10 is designed for growing elemental crystals such as of silicon, and also for growing Group III-V or Group II-VI compound crystals. The III-V Group compounds are formed by combining elements from Group III with elements from Group V. The II-VI Group compounds are formed by combining elements from Group II with elements of Group VI. Elements from Group V and VI have much higher vapor pressures at a given temperature than the elements of Group II or III and tend to evaporate from the melt. Gallium arsenide, GaAs, is formed from Ga (element of Group III) and As (element of Group V). At the melting point of GaAs (1240.degree. C.), As has a 0.976 atmosphere vapor pressure over the melt. Unless equal pressure is maintained over the melt, the melt will become Ga rich as it loses As. In adition, As condenses on surfaces having temperatures lower than 613.degree. C. Therefore the stoichiometry of the melt cannot be controlled in a cold wall chamber. The apparatus of the invention provides for controlling the partial pressure of the volatile component over the melt in the hot wall container 12. Partial pressure is controlled by an injection cell 42 which contains the volatile component such as As. The temperature and the partial pressure in the injection cell 42 is maintained at a desired level by a heater 44. To minimize mechanical stresses on the container 12 because of vapor pressure controlled by the injection cell 42, an equivalent pressure is provided outside the container by an inert gas introduced into the tank 20 through the gas inlet 24. Yet another heater 46 surrounds the neck portion 16 of the container 12 to prevent freezing of the encapsulent 34.

Because the melt 32 floats on top of the encapsulent 34, the melt 32 has two horizontal free surfaces, i.e., surfaces not in contact with a solid. These two free surfaces are a top free surface 48 and a bottom free surface 50 which is the interface between the melt 32 and the encapsulent 34. Because the growth takes place at the melt-encapsulent interface, mechanical stresses are not imposed on the crystal during solidification which is an advantage compared with the Bridgman process.

Because the melt is heated from the top, it is exposed to a stabilizing temperature gradient since the bottom melt surface 50 is colder than the top melt surface 48. The strong stabilizing temperature gradient eliminates the unsteady (time dependent) natural convection in the melt which exist in the Czochralski process and in the liquid encapsulated Czochralski process. Some very low levels of steady natural convection may still exist in the melt 32 because of radial temperature non uniformity. There may also be low levels of steady natural convection in the encapsulent 34 generated by radial temperature gradients caused by the difference in thermal conductivity of the melt 32 and the encapsulent 34. The invention also results in low thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection. Marangoni flows (i.e., flows driven by surface tension) are minimized by the presence of the viscous encapsulent and by the low radial temperature gradients at the melt/encapsulent interface. Because the apparatus utilizes a hot wall container, vapor pressure of the volatile constituent over the melt, and hence the stoichiometry of the melt is readily controlled during compound crystal growth. Besides carrying the melt, the heavy encapsulent serves to thermally insulate the crystal as it grows reducing thermal stresses and thereby reduces the number of stress induced dislocations. Because of the expected high thermal symmetry, the apparatus of the invention can grow crystals without the need for rotating the crucible or the crystal. However, in some applications, crystal rotation might optimize the fluid flow and mass transfer in the melt. High axial thermal symmetry is achieved since heat is supplied from the top rather than radially. The insulation 18 also results in high symmetry in heat losses from the container 12.

It is recognized that modifications and variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is intended that all such modifications and variations be included within the scope of the appended claims.