Method for manufacturing granular silicon crystal

• US 7,323,047 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2006
• Issued: 01/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Arimune, Hisao, Sugawara, Shin, Kitahara, Nobuyuki, Takahashi, Eigo, Miura, Yoshio
• Primary Examiner(s): HITESHEW, FELISA CARLA
• Application Number:
  US11/387,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20060213427A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• Field of Search: 117/14, 117/18, 117/214
• US Class Current: 117/18
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 11/00 Single-crystal growth by normal freezing or freezing under temperature gradient, e.g. Bridgman-Stockbarger method C30B13/00, C30B15/00, C30B17/00, C30B19/00 take precedence; under a protective fluid C30B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/06 Silicon
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/36 Carbides
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/38 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/66 Crystals of complex geometrical shape, e.g. tubes, cylinders
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 117/1056 including details of precursor replenishment

Abstract

In a method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal by allowing silicon melt in a crucible to be granularly discharged and fallen from a nozzle part composed of silicon carbide or silicon nitride, and cooling and solidifying the granular silicon melt during falling, a carbon source is added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide, and a nitrogen source is added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride, to the silicon melt in the crucible. Thereby, melt droplets of uniform size can be generated, so that granular silicon crystals having narrow variations in particle size can be manufactured at high productivity and superior reproducibility.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal comprising:

allowing silicon melt in a crucible to be granularly discharged and fallen from a nozzle part composed of silicon carbide or silicon nitride; and

cooling and solidifying the granular silicon melt during falling,

to the silicon melt in the crucible, a carbon source being added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbonate, and a nitrogen source being added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride.

2. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 1, wherein

the carbon source is carbon-containing gas and the nitrogen source is nitrogen-containing gas, and

to atmospheric gas in the crucible containing silicon melt, carbon-containing gas is added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide, and nitrogen-containing gas is added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride.

3. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 2, wherein the carbon-containing gas is carbon monoxide gas or carbon dioxide gas when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide.

4. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 2, wherein, when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide, carbon is added in an amount of 1×

10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ to 1×

10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ per silicon of 1 cm³ to the silicon melt.

5. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 2, wherein the nitrogen-containing gas is nitrogen gas when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride.

6. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 2, wherein, when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride, nitrogen is added in an amount of 2×

10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ to 2×

10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ per silicon of 1 cm³ to the silicon melt.

7. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 2, wherein, to the atmospheric gas in the crucible containing silicon melt, the carbon-containing gas is added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide, and the nitrogen-containing gas is added when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride, and thereafter the pressure of the atmospheric gas in the crucible is raised than the pressure before the gas is added.

8. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 2, wherein a gas introducing pipe for adding gas containing carbon or nitrogen into silicon melt has a gas discharge port positioned 10 mm to 300 mm above from the surface of the silicon melt.

9. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 1, wherein the carbon source is silicon carbide powder, and the nitrogen source is silicon nitride powder.

10. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 1, wherein silicon of the silicon melt is silicon obtained by forming a silicon carbide film as the carbon source on the surface of silicon material by carbonization process when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide, and is silicon obtained by forming a silicon nitride film as the nitrogen source on the surface of silicon material by nitriding process when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride.

11. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 1, wherein

the carbon source is carbon-containing inorganic solid member, and the nitrogen source is nitrogen-containing solid member,

the carbon-containing inorganic solid member is introduced when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide, and the nitrogen-containing inorganic solid member is introduced when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride, into the silicon melt in the crucible.

12. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 11, wherein, when the nozzle part is composed of silicon carbide, carbon is added in an amount of 1×

10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ to 1×

10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ per silicon of 1 cm³ to the silicon melt.

13. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 11, wherein the nitrogen-containing inorganic solid member is composed of silicon nitride.

14. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 11, wherein, when the nozzle part is composed of silicon nitride, nitrogen is added in an amount of 2×

10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ to 2×

10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ per silicon of 1 cm³ to the silicon melt.

15. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 11, wherein the carbon-containing inorganic solid member is disposed so as to cover above the nozzle hole of the nozzle part, and is provided with a large number of through holes blocking passage of silicon carbide particles generated in the silicon melt.

16. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 15, wherein the through holes have a diameter of 80 μ

m to 200 μ

m.

17. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 11, wherein the nitrogen-containing inorganic solid member is disposed so as to cover above the nozzle hole of the nozzle part, and is provided with a large number of through holes blocking passage of silicon nitride particles generated in the silicon melt.

18. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 17, wherein the through holes have a diameter of 80 μ

m to 200 μ

m.

19. The method for manufacturing a granular silicon crystal according to claim 1, wherein the carbon-containing inorganic solid member is composed of graphite or silicon carbide.