US-12618169-B2 - Ingot growing apparatus

US12618169B2US 12618169 B2US12618169 B2US 12618169B2US-12618169-B2

Abstract

An ingot growing apparatus is disclosed. An ingot growing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a growth furnace for growing an ingot, and a main crucible which is accommodated in the growth furnace and accommodates molten silicon, wherein the main crucible comprises: a main crucible bottom portion; a main crucible side portion that extends upwardly from the main crucible bottom portion; and a main crucible inclined portion that has an inclined surface extending upward and outward from the main crucible side portion. In addition, when the molten silicon is supplied from the upper side of the main crucible side portion into the main crucible, the molten silicon is guided into the main crucible along the inclined surface, thereby preventing the molten silicon from splashing around the main crucible.

Inventors

Keun Ho Kim
Kyung Seok Lee
Jin Sung Park

Assignees

Hanwha Solutions Corporation
HANWHA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20210903
Priority Date: 20200928

Claims (10)

1 . An apparatus for growing an ingot, comprising: a growth furnace for growing the ingot; and a main crucible which is accommodated in the growth furnace and accommodates molten silicon, wherein the main crucible comprises: a main crucible bottom portion; a main crucible side portion which extends upwardly from the main crucible bottom portion; and a main crucible inclined portion that has an inclined surface extending upward and outward from the main crucible side portion, and wherein when the molten silicon is supplied from an upper side of the main crucible side portion into the main crucible, the molten silicon is guided into the main crucible along the inclined surface, wherein a guide groove is formed on the inclined surface of the main crucible inclined portion, the guide groove guiding molten silicon supplied onto the inclined surface and being formed in a curved shape extending from an inner side toward an outer side on the inclined surface, and wherein an inside of the main crucible is divided into a first region in which the ingot is grown and a second region surrounding the first region, and the molten silicon moves along the guide groove and is guided to the second region of the main crucible.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the inclined surface is formed such that an angle of the inclined surface with respect to the main crucible bottom portion is constant from an inner side to an outer side of the main crucible, or the angle gradually decreases from the inner side to the outer side.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the main crucible side portion is formed perpendicularly or inclined outward from the main crucible bottom portion.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a connecting portion where the inclined surface is connected to the main crucible side portion is formed as a curved surface.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the guide groove is formed in plurality on the inclined surface along a circumferential direction of the main crucible.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a susceptor which is formed to surround outer surfaces of the main crucible bottom portion, the main crucible side portion and the main crucible inclined portion; and a heater which is located outside the susceptor to heat the main crucible by heating the susceptor.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a preliminary crucible for melting a solid silicon material to produce the molten silicon and supplying the molten silicon to the main crucible, wherein the preliminary crucible comprises: a melting part in which the solid silicon material is melted; and a protrusion part which is provided with a guide surface extending from the melting part toward the main crucible to guide the molten silicon toward the main crucible such that the silicon melted from the melting part can be supplied into the main crucible along the inclined surface of the main crucible, and wherein the preliminary crucible is movable so as to be located at a first position in which the solid silicon material is melted and at a second position in which the molten silicon is supplied to the main crucible.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein in the first position, the guide surface is formed to be inclined in an upward direction of the main crucible.
9 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein in the second position, an angle between the guide surface and the main crucible bottom portion is smaller than the angle between the inclined surface and the main crucible bottom portion.
10 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein in the second position, an end of the protrusion part is positioned adjacent to the inclined surface, and in the first position, the end of the protrusion part is positioned farther from the inclined surface than in the second position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2021/011959 filed Sep. 3, 2021, claiming priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0126316 filed Sep. 28, 2020. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus for growing an ingot. BACKGROUND ART Single crystal silicon is used as a basic material for most semiconductor components, and this material is manufactured as single crystals with high purity, and one of the manufacturing methods thereof is the Czochralski method. In the Czochralski crystallization method, silicon is placed into a crucible, and the crucible is heated to melt the silicon. In addition, when a single crystal seed is pulled upward while rotating in a state of being in contact with the molten silicon, an ingot having a predetermined diameter is grown. The continuous Czochralski method (CCz), which is one of the Czochralski methods, is a method of continuously growing an ingot while supplementing the consumed molten silicon by continuously injecting solid polysilicon or molten silicon into the crucible. While solid polysilicon is injected into the crucible, a phenomenon occurs in which molten silicon is splashed. In addition, when the molten silicon is splashed, a wave is generated in the molten silicon, and there is a problem in that the single crystal yield of an ingot is lowered. Further, in the process of injecting solid polysilicon into the crucible, a sudden temperature change of the molten silicon occurs. Such a temperature change is a factor that reduces the single crystal yield of an ingot. DISCLOSURE Technical Problem According to an aspect of the present invention, in the process of supplying a solid silicon material to a crucible, the present invention is directed to providing an apparatus for growing an ingot that prevents a sudden change in temperature of the molten silicon inside the crucible while preventing wave generation in the molten silicon inside the crucible. Technical Solution The apparatus for growing an ingot according to an aspect of the present invention may include a growth furnace for growing an ingot; and a main crucible which is accommodated in the growth furnace and accommodates molten silicon, wherein the main crucible includes a main crucible bottom portion; a main crucible side portion which extends upwardly from the main crucible bottom portion; and a main crucible inclined portion that has an inclined surface extending upward and outward from the main crucible side portion, and wherein when the molten silicon is supplied from the upper side of the main crucible side portion into the main crucible, the molten silicon is guided into the main crucible along the inclined surface. In this case, the inclined surface may be formed such that the slope of the inclined surface is the same from the inside to the outside of the main crucible, or the slope becomes small from the inside to the outside. In this case, the main crucible side portion may be formed perpendicularly or inclined outward from the main crucible bottom portion. In this case, a connecting portion where the inclined surface is connected to the main crucible side portion may be formed as a curved surface. In this case, the main crucible inclined portion may include a guide groove which is formed on the inclined surface and guides the molten silicon supplied onto the inclined surface. In this case, the guide groove may be formed in plurality on the inclined surface along the circumferential direction of the main crucible. In this case, the guide groove may be formed in a spiral which is curved from the inside to the outside on the inclined surface. In this case, the apparatus for growing an ingot may further include a susceptor which is formed to surround the outer surfaces of the main crucible bottom portion, the main crucible side portion and the main crucible inclined portion; and a heater which is located outside the susceptor to heat the main crucible by heating the susceptor. In this case, the apparatus for growing an ingot may further include a preliminary crucible for melting a solid silicon material to produce the molten silicon and supplying the molten silicon to the main crucible, wherein the preliminary crucible includes a melting part in which the solid silicon material is melted; and a protrusion part which is provided with a guide surface which extends from the melting part in a direction of the main crucible to guide the molten silicon in a direction of the main crucible such that the silicon melted from the melting part can be supplied into the main crucible along the inclined surface of the main crucible, and wherein the preliminary crucible is movable so as to be located at a first position in which the solid silicon material is melted and at a second position in which the molten silicon is supplied to the main crucible. In this case, in the first position, the guide surface may be forme