JPS5935877B2 - crystal manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a crystal manufacturing apparatus for growing crystals from a melt of silicon or the like, and particularly relates to an improvement in the part of the apparatus for pulling crystals.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Conventionally, there are various apparatuses for growing crystals from melt.

For example, as a first conventional example, as shown in FIG. 1, there is an apparatus for pulling silicon melt 2 in a crucible 1 through a die 3 having a slit into a ribbon-shaped crystal.

In this device, a silicon ribbon is pulled up by a ribbon pulling drive unit 4, and the pulled up silicon ribbon is wound up by a drum 5.

The disadvantage of this device is that since the silicone ribbon is wound around the drum 5, when it is later cut to size, the diameter of the silicone ribbon is 700 to 1200.
It was necessary to remove the drum 5, which was approximately 30 to 50 kg in weight, and transport the entire drum to a sizing cutting device for a subsequent process, resulting in poor workability.

Furthermore, there is a limit to the ability to continuously wind up a silicon ribbon (usually 3 to 6 turns), and continuous winding over a long period of time was not possible.

As a second conventional example, as shown in FIG. 2, there is a device in which the silicon ribbon is scribed with a diamond needle 7 at the upper part of the ribbon pulling drive unit 4 and split into a certain shape.

The device configuration from the pulling drive unit 4 to the crucible 1 is almost the same as that shown in FIG.

This device has the following drawbacks:

Since cutting is performed using a diamond needle 7, if the silicon ribbon is not sufficiently annealed to remove thermal distortion, cracks may form on the pulling axis of the silicon ribbon, significantly reducing the yield of the product. There is.

Further, since the cutting is performed at the upper part of the pulling drive unit 4, the workability is poor, and it is difficult to develop the machine into a one-person machine due to the reliability of cutting.

As the third conventional example, JP-A-53 There is one shown in Publication No. 73481.

As shown in FIG. 3, this process is performed depending on an apparatus for growing a crystal by using a die 3 having a desired shape for crystal growth, using a silicon melt 2 melted by a heating element in a crucible 1, and the amount of crystal growth. A ribbon crystal growth apparatus section 10 consisting of a raw material supply mechanism 9 that continuously supplies raw materials to the crucible 1, and this ribbon crystal growth apparatus section 10 are also provided in order to pull up a silicon ribbon 11 as a ribbon-shaped crystal. Multiple pairs of ribbon crystal feeding rollers 1 rotating at a constant circumferential speed
2, a high-power laser device 15 that generates a laser beam 14 that cuts the silicon ribbon 11 that is continuously fed from the crystal pulling drive device 13, and a parallel structure of the laser device 15. The crystal cutting mechanism section 17 includes a moving mechanism 16.

The drawback of this third device is that it does not have a function to collect dust such as splash and vapor generated during laser cutting, so they enter the crystal pulling drive unit 13 and the crucible 1, etc., and collect the newly growing silicon. Adheres to the ribbon.

Further, the splash adheres to the feed roller 12 and damages the surface of the silicon ribbon 110 that is being pulled up.

As a result, the quality of the silicon ribbon 11 deteriorates, or in severe cases, it becomes a defective product, which becomes a major factor in lowering the yield.

It can be easily assumed that a dust collection chamber should be provided at the ribbon cutting part as an improvement plan, but the splash and vapor from laser cutting have a considerable speed when they scatter.
Generally speaking, it is difficult to suction 100% of the splash and vapor with the capacity of the vacuum line installed in the factory, and some of the splash and vapor still remain in the crystal pulling drive unit 13.
etc., and it is not possible to completely deal with the above-mentioned problems.

Further, as a drawback of this example, since the cut crystals are not aligned, there is a possibility that the crystals collide with each other, causing defects and cracks.

[Purpose of the invention]

The object of the present invention was made in view of the deficiencies of the above-mentioned conventional examples, and by changing the direction of the long crystal and cutting the long crystal at a position offset from the pulling axis by the pulling drive unit, Crystal manufacturing that eliminates the splash that occurs and falls during cutting, the long crystals caused by vapor, and the contamination of each equipment part, making it possible to obtain long crystals of better quality and allowing crystal growth for a long time. The goal is to provide equipment.

[Summary of the invention]

The structure of the crystal manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is that in a crystal manufacturing apparatus that continuously pulls long crystals grown from a melt in a crucible, a raw material supplying device section supplies raw materials into the crucible according to the crystal growth capacity. a heating device for melting the raw material in the crucible; a die having a slit partially immersed in the melt in the crucible for moving the melt; and a long crystal being drawn from the die. a pulling drive unit for lifting the crystal; an annealing unit for removing thermal strain from the pulled long crystal;
a direction changing device section that changes the conveying direction of the long crystal; a cutting device section that cuts the direction-changed long crystal into a certain length; a storage device section that stores the cut crystal; The device is characterized by being equipped with a pedestal that fixedly supports each device section, and by changing the direction of the grown long crystal and lifting it into a long crystal at a position offset from the pulling axis by the pulling drive device section. By cutting the crystal, splash, vapor, etc. generated during cutting are prevented from falling into the pulling drive unit, etc.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The raw material supply device section 23 is connected via the support 22 by the frame 21.
, supports the heating device section 24 , supports the annealing device section 25 via support means (not shown), supports the pulling drive device section 28 via supports 26 and 27 , and supports the support section 26 , A direction changing device section 30 is supported via a support plate 29, a length measuring device section 32 and a cutting device section 33 are supported via a support plate 31, and a storage device section 34 is supported at the rear.

The raw material supply unit 23 stores silicon granules 37 as a raw material in a container 38, and passes the silicon granules 37 from this container 38 through a gutter 39 and a pipe 40 according to the capacity of crystal growth.
7 is taken out.

The heating device section 24 has heaters 44 disposed on both sides of the crucible 430, which is fixed on the pedestal 21 by support means (not shown), and melts the silicon granules 37 supplied into the crucible 43 to melt the silicon. This is to make liquid 45.

Inside the crucible 43, a portion of the silicon melt 45 inside the crucible 43 is placed in order to move the silicon melt 45 upward.
A die 47 having a slit 46 immersed in the water is inserted.

The pulling drive unit 28 operates a plurality of pairs of feed rollers 50 that rotate at a constant circumferential speed and a motor 51 that drives the rollers 50 in order to pull up the silicon that has been lifted up by the die 47 and crystallized into a plate shape. have.

The above-mentioned annealing device section 25 includes the above-mentioned pulling drive device section 28.
The heating section 53 is provided with a heating section 53, and a pair of cooling plates 54 are disposed above the heating section 53.

The direction changing device section 30 is for changing the conveyance direction of the silicon ribbon 52, and the reversing drum 56 is rotatably supported by a pair of support plates 55 provided on the upper part of the support columns 26,290. The reversing drum 56 is rotated by a motor 57 provided in the
A plurality of roller support members 60 are fixedly supported by the support plate 55, and an endless belt 62 is moved around the reversing drum 56 by a rotatable roller 61 provided at the tip of the roller support member 60. Support along the outer peripheral surface of the upper half.

The inner side of the endless belt 62 is energized by the outer peripheral surface of the reversing drum 56.

The length measuring device section 32 has a ribbon length measuring roller 65, and the cutting device section 33 cuts the silicon ribbon 52 to a predetermined length using a laser beam 66 that oscillates as shown in FIG. It has a scanner 67 and a dust collection chamber 68 at the cutting position.

The storage device section 34 stores the cut silicon crystals 69, and has a plurality of partitions 71 with vertical protrusions inside the magazine 70, and each time a silicon crystal 69 is stored between the partitions 71, a partition 71 A mechanism 72 is provided for horizontally moving the magazine 70 so that the magazine 70 is shifted one pitch at a time.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

The silicon granules 37 are supplied from the raw material supply unit 23 to the crucible 43 in accordance with the growth capacity of the silicon ribbon 52.

The supplied silicon granules 37 enter the silicon melt 45 melted by the heater 44 of the heating device section 24 and are instantly melted.

The silicon melt 45 is applied to the holes 0 and 2 provided in the center of the die 47.
~0.5 mm 8 degree slit 460 reaches the upper end of die 47 by capillary action.

The silicon melt that has reached the upper end of the die 47 is seeded with a ribbon-shaped material called a seed crystal, and begins to grow as the seed crystal rises.

The grown silicon ribbon 52 is first transferred to the annealing device section 2.
5, and then cooled by a cooling plate 54 according to a desired cooling characteristic curve.

The seed crystal and the silicon ribbon 52 are pulled up by the pulling drive unit 2.
It is pulled up by 8 and rises.

The silicon ribbon 5 that has passed through this pulling drive unit 28
2 enters between the reversing drum 56 and the endless belt 62 of the direction changing device section 300, and starts reversing by continuous rotation of the reversing drum 56.

After the silicon ribbon 52 is reversed by 180°, it enters the ribbon length measuring roller 65 and starts measuring the length of the silicon ribbon 52.

When the silicon ribbon 52 of a predetermined length passes, a cutting signal is output from the control section, and the laser scanner 67 of the ribbon cutting device section 33 emits a laser beam 66 and starts horizontal movement.

Cutting is performed in a dust collecting chamber 68, and the splash and vapor generated during cutting are collected by vacuum pressure through a pipe 73 connected to a vacuum pump.

At this time, 100% of the splash and vapor cannot be collected, but even if they fall below the dust collection chamber 68,
Silicon ribbon 52 and device parts 24, 25, 28, 3
It won't hurt 2nd place.

The cut silicon crystal 69 is stored in the ribbon storage device section 34.
The magazines 70 are lined up and stored between the partitions 71 of the magazine 70.

When the cut silicon crystal 69 is placed in the magazine 70, the magazine 70 moves horizontally so that the next silicon crystal can be stored therein.

This eliminates the need for workers to constantly monitor the equipment, making automation possible.

In the above embodiment, the silicon ribbon 52 is reversed by 180 degrees after being pulled up, but the angle is not limited to this angle, and the material of the crystal to be pulled can also be made of silicon if the direction can be changed. There is no limitation, and the shape is not limited to only a flat ribbon shape as long as the direction can be changed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, since the long crystal is cut after changing its direction, there is no splash or vapor entering the pulling drive unit, heating device, etc. during cutting, and there is no possibility that these will adhere to the long crystal. It is possible to obtain high-quality crystals without any problems, and by integrating the raw material supply device, cutting device, and storage device into one, the device can be operated continuously for a long time.

Further, by changing the direction of the elongated crystals grown upward, the cutting device section and the storage device section, which require a large number of operations, are placed in a lower position, which improves work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view showing the first conventional example, Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing the second conventional example, Fig. 3 is a side sectional view showing the third conventional example, and Fig. 4 is a crystal of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional view schematically showing the same. 21... Frame, 23... Raw material supply device section, 24... Heating device section, 25... Annealing device section, 28... Pulling drive unit, 3
0... Direction change device section, 33... Cutting device section, 34... Storage device section, 37...
・Silicon granules as raw materials, 43... Crucible, 45... Silicon melt, 46... Slit, 47... Gui, 52... ...Silicon ribbon as a long crystal.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A crystal manufacturing apparatus that continuously pulls long crystals grown from a melt in a crucible, comprising: a raw material supply unit that supplies raw materials into the crucible according to the crystal growth capacity; A heating device section that melts the raw material in the crucible, a goo having a slit partially immersed in the melt in the crucible to move the melt, and a pulling drive that pulls up the long crystal from this goo. A device section, an Ayu-4 placing section for removing thermal strain of the pulled long crystal, a direction changing device section for changing the conveying direction of the long crystal, and a direction changing device section for changing the conveying direction of the long crystal, and moving the direction-changed long crystal to a certain length. 1. A crystal manufacturing apparatus comprising: a cutting device section for cutting the crystal, a storage device section for storing the cut crystal, and a pedestal for fixedly supporting each of the above-mentioned device sections. 2. The crystal manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elongated crystal that has grown upward is changed direction and cut at a position offset from the pulling axis by the pulling drive unit.