Crystal growth furnace equipment
By designing a crystal growth furnace that includes a crystal growth furnace mechanism, a preparatory chamber, a crystal growth crucible mechanism, a seed preparation mechanism, and a seed setting mechanism, the contamination problem during the seed placement process was solved, achieving a contamination-free preservation and purification environment for the seeds, and improving the quality of crystal growth.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- 王启任
- Filing Date
- 2025-01-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-14
AI Technical Summary
Existing silicon carbide induction crystal growth furnaces are prone to introducing impurities and human contaminants during the seed placement process, and lack a purification system to provide a clean crystal growth environment, resulting in poor crystal growth quality.
A crystal growth furnace device was designed, comprising a crystal growth furnace mechanism, a preparation chamber, a crystal growth crucible mechanism, a seed preparation mechanism, and a seed setting mechanism. The device achieves contamination-free preservation and placement of seed crystals through a lifting and conveying unit, a rotating module, and a clamping assembly, and is equipped with a purification system to remove contaminants.
Ensure that the seed crystals are well preserved without contamination before being placed into the crystal growth crucible, avoid human contamination, and provide a purification environment to improve the quality of crystal growth.
Smart Images
Figure CN224119161U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a crystal growth furnace device. Background Technology
[0002] Existing silicon carbide induction crystal growth furnaces typically place silicon carbide powder at the bottom of a crystal growth container and manually place a seed crystal at the top of the container before using the existing physical vapor transport (PVT) method for crystal growth. Because the seed crystal is manually placed into the crystal growth container, it is prone to contamination by impurities and human-caused pollutants, resulting in poor crystal growth yield. Ensuring that the seed crystal is well-preserved and free from contamination before crystal growth within the container, while simultaneously preventing human contamination during placement, is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed.
[0003] Existing crystal growth furnaces also lack purification systems capable of purifying the crystal growth container, making it impossible to remove contaminants such as oxides, organic matter, and metals from the crystal growth container. Therefore, they fail to provide the clean environment required for crystal growth, which prevents further improvement in crystal quality. Utility Model Content
[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a crystal growth furnace that can overcome at least one of the shortcomings of the prior art.
[0005] The crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model is suitable for supplying seed crystals for crystal growth, and includes a crystal growth furnace mechanism, a preparation chamber, a crystal growth crucible mechanism, a seed crystal preparation mechanism, and a seed crystal setting mechanism.
[0006] The preparatory cavity is located below the crystal growth furnace mechanism.
[0007] The crystal growth crucible mechanism is disposed in the preparation cavity and includes a lifting and conveying unit and a crystal growth crucible assembly for being fed upward into the crystal growth furnace mechanism by the lifting and conveying unit. The crystal growth crucible assembly has a crucible body and a crucible cover covering the crucible body.
[0008] The seed crystal preparation mechanism is disposed in the preparation cavity and includes a seed crystal pre-storage crucible and a pre-storage cover on the seed crystal pre-storage crucible. The bottom surface of the pre-storage cover is used to place the seed crystal. The pre-storage cover can cooperate with the seed crystal pre-storage crucible to pre-seal the seed crystal.
[0009] The seed crystal setting mechanism is disposed in the preparation cavity and includes a lifting module and a rotating module mounted on the lifting module. The rotating module has two gripping components for picking up and placing the crucible cover and the pre-stored cover, respectively. The lifting module and the rotating module can be controlled to cooperate and drive the gripping components so that the positions of the crucible cover and the pre-stored cover are interchanged.
[0010] The crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model includes a crucible cover covering the crucible body and a crucible clamping head disposed on the top of the crucible cover. The pre-storage cover includes a pre-storage cover covering the seed crystal pre-storage crucible and a pre-storage clamping head disposed on the top of the pre-storage cover. The crucible clamping head and the pre-storage clamping head are used for clamping by the clamping assembly, respectively.
[0011] The crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model includes a lifting module comprising a vertically extending slide rail, a slider slidably disposed on the slide rail, and a transmission component disposed on the slide rail and connected to the slider. The transmission component can be controlled to drive the slider to move vertically relative to the slide rail, thereby causing the slider to drive the rotating module to move vertically.
[0012] The crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model includes a rotating module with a motor mounted on the lifting module and a rotating arm that extends laterally and is connected to the motor at its middle part. The clamping components are respectively mounted at both ends of the rotating arm.
[0013] In the crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model, the motor can drive the rotating arm to rotate and shift between a normal position and an exchange position. When the rotating arm is in the normal position, the clamping components are not directly above the crucible cover and the pre-storage cover. When the rotating arm is in the exchange position, the clamping components are respectively located directly above the crucible cover and the pre-storage cover.
[0014] The crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model further includes a seed preparation mechanism that includes a pre-stored insulation material disposed around the pre-stored clamping head.
[0015] The crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model further includes a crystal growth crucible assembly with a crucible insulation material disposed around the crucible body and the outer periphery of the crucible cover.
[0016] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: the seed preparation mechanism can ensure that the seed crystals are well preserved without contamination before being placed into the crystal growth crucible mechanism, and the seed setting mechanism can avoid human contamination when the seed crystals are replaced into the crystal growth crucible mechanism. Attached Figure Description
[0017] Other features and effects of this utility model will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0018] Figure 1 This is a front view of an embodiment of the crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model;
[0019] Figure 2 It is a perspective view illustrating the crystal growth crucible mechanism, seed preparation mechanism, and seed setting mechanism of this embodiment;
[0020] Figure 3 It is a partial front sectional view illustrating the crystal growth crucible mechanism and the seed preparation mechanism of this embodiment;
[0021] Figure 4 This is a top view illustrating that the rotating module of this embodiment is in its normal position;
[0022] Figure 5 This is a top view illustrating that the rotating module of this embodiment is located in the exchange position;
[0023] Figure 6 This is a front view illustrating the crystal growth crucible mechanism, the seed preparation mechanism, and the seed setting mechanism of this embodiment;
[0024] Figure 7 This is a front view illustrating that, in this embodiment, the crucible cover moves upward away from the crucible body, and the pre-storage cover moves upward away from the seed crystal pre-storage crucible. Detailed Implementation
[0025] See Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 This utility model discloses an embodiment of a crystal growth furnace apparatus suitable for growing a seed crystal (not shown) using the physical vapor transport (PVT) method. The seed crystal is, for example, but not limited to, a 6-inch or 8-inch silicon carbide wafer. The crystal growth furnace apparatus includes a crystal growth furnace mechanism 1, a preparation chamber 2 disposed below the crystal growth furnace mechanism 1, a crystal growth crucible mechanism 3, a seed crystal preparation mechanism 4, and a seed crystal placement mechanism 5 disposed within the preparation chamber 2. It should be noted that... Figure 1 The outer shell structure of the preparatory cavity 2 is omitted from the text.
[0026] The crystal growth furnace mechanism 1 includes a quartz furnace, a vacuum system for controlling the vacuum state within the quartz furnace, a purification system for purifying the crystal growth crucible mechanism 3 that is fed upwards into the quartz furnace, and a heating system for controlling the temperature distribution within the quartz furnace. The purification system provides a purification environment for the crystal growth crucible mechanism 3. Before the crystal growth process begins, the purification system supplies reducing gas at the necessary temperature to the crystal growth crucible mechanism 3 to remove contaminants such as oxides, organic matter, and metals. The heating system may be, but is not limited to, an induction heating system. Since the crystal growth furnace mechanism 1 is not the focus of this invention, and many widely implementable embodiments already exist, it will not be described in detail here.
[0027] The crystal growth crucible mechanism 3 includes a lifting and conveying unit 31 and a crystal growth crucible assembly 32 for being fed upward into the crystal growth furnace mechanism 1 by the lifting and conveying unit 31. The lifting and conveying unit 31 has a lifting plate 311 disposed below the crystal growth crucible assembly 32 and a lifting driver 312 connected to the lifting plate 311 on one side and extending upward to the top of the preparation chamber 2. The lifting driver 312 can be controlled to drive the lifting plate 311 to move the crystal growth crucible assembly 32 up and down relative to the lifting driver 312. When the crystal growth crucible assembly 32 needs to perform purification or crystal growth, the crystal growth crucible assembly 32 can be fed upward into the crystal growth furnace mechanism 1 by the lifting driver 312, and when the crystal growth crucible assembly 32 needs to be set with a seed crystal, the crystal growth crucible assembly 32 can be moved downward back into the preparation chamber 2 by the lifting driver 312.
[0028] The crystal growth crucible assembly 32 has a cylindrical crucible body 321, a crucible top cover 322 covering the crucible body 321, and a crucible insulation material 323 surrounding the crucible body 321 and the crucible top cover 322. The crucible body 321 is, for example, but not limited to, a graphite crucible. A silicon carbide powder (not shown) for cooperating with the seed crystal to perform crystal growth is disposed at the bottom of the crucible body 321. The crucible top cover 322 is, for example, but not limited to, a graphite crucible lid. The crucible top cover 322 has a circular crucible lid body 324 covering the crucible body 321, and a crucible clamping head 325 disposed on the top of the crucible lid body 324. The crucible insulation material 323 is, for example, but not limited to, made of a porous material. The crucible insulation material 323 has a top insulation material 326 surrounding the crucible clamping head 325, a bottom insulation material 327 disposed at the bottom of the crucible body 321, and a peripheral insulation material 328 connecting the top insulation material 326 and the bottom insulation material 327 and surrounding the crucible body 321.
[0029] The specific targets to be purified by the aforementioned purification system include the crucible body 321, the crucible cover 322, the crucible insulation material 323, and the silicon carbide powder.
[0030] The seed preparation mechanism 4 includes a seed storage crucible 41 with the same appearance and material as the crucible body 321, a storage cover 42 covering the seed storage crucible 41, and a storage insulation material 43 surrounding the storage cover 42. The storage cover 42 has the same appearance and material as the crucible cover 322. The bottom surface of the storage cover 42 is used for placing the seed crystal. Before placing the seed crystal in the crystal growth crucible assembly 32, the storage cover 42 can cooperate with the seed storage crucible 41 to pre-seal the seed crystal. The storage cover 42 includes a storage cover body 421 covering the seed storage crucible 41 and a storage clamping head 422 disposed on the top of the storage cover body 421. The storage insulation material 43 is disposed around the storage clamping head 422.
[0031] The seed crystal setting mechanism 5 is located between the crystal growth crucible mechanism 3 and the seed crystal preparation mechanism 4, and includes a lifting module 51 and a rotating module 52 mounted on the lifting module 51. The lifting module 51 includes a vertically extending slide rail 511, a slider 512 slidably disposed on the slide rail 511, and a transmission assembly 513 disposed on the slide rail 511 and connected to the slider 512. The transmission assembly 513 may, for example but not limited to, consist of a drive motor and a screw connecting the drive motor and the slider 512. The transmission assembly 513 can be controlled to drive the slider 512 to move vertically relative to the slide rail 511, and to drive the rotating module 52 to move upwards (e.g., ...). Figure 7 ) or downward displacement (such as Figure 6 ).
[0032] The rotating module 52 includes a motor 521 mounted on the slider 512, a laterally extending rotating arm 522 connected to the motor 521 at its middle portion, and two gripping assemblies 523 respectively disposed at both ends of the rotating arm 522. The motor 521 can drive the rotating arm 522 in a normal position (e.g., Figure 4 (as shown) and a swapped position (such as) Figure 2 or Figure 5The rotational displacement is shown. When the rotating arm 522 is in its normal position, the gripping components 523 are not directly above the crucible cover 322 and the pre-storage cover 42, so the rotating module 52 will not obstruct the lifting and transferring unit 31 from feeding the crystal growth crucible assembly 32 upward into the crystal growth furnace mechanism 1. When the rotating arm 522 is in the exchange position, the gripping components 523 are respectively located directly above the crucible cover 322 and the pre-storage cover 42, and can be used to pick up and put down the crucible cover 322 and the pre-storage cover 42 respectively. Each gripping component 523 is, for example, but not limited to, a cylinder-driven gripper.
[0033] See Figure 3 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 The rotating module 52 can be controlled to cooperate with the lifting module 51 to drive the clamping assembly 523, so that the positions of the crucible cover 322 and the pre-stored cover 42 are exchanged. Normally, the slider 512 of the lifting module 51 is located at the lower part of the slide rail 511, and the clamping assembly 523 is positioned in this normal position (e.g., Figure 4 When the seed crystal in the seed preparation mechanism 4 needs to be placed in the crystal growth crucible assembly 32, the transmission assembly 513 drives the slider 512 to move to a higher position relative to the slide rail 511, and the clamping assembly 523 is simultaneously driven to move upward. Next, the motor 521 drives the rotating arm 522 from the normal position to the exchange position, that is, the clamping assembly 523 is moved to directly above the crucible cover 322 and the pre-stored cover 42, respectively. Then, the transmission assembly 513 drives the slider 512 to move downward relative to the slide rail 511, and the clamping assembly 523 clamps the crucible clamping head 325 and the pre-stored clamping head 422 (e.g., ...). Figure 3 and Figure 6 (As shown).
[0034] Next, the transmission assembly 513 drives the clamping assembly 523 to move the crucible cover 322 and the pre-stored cover 42 upward together (e.g., Figure 7(As shown), the motor 521 then drives the rotating arm 522 to rotate 180 degrees, thereby exchanging the positions of the clamping assembly 523, that is, exchanging the positions of the crucible cover 322 and the pre-storage cover 42. Finally, the transmission assembly 513 drives the clamping assembly 523 to move the pre-storage cover 42 and the crucible cover 322 downwards together, so that the pre-storage cover 42, on which the seed crystal is placed, closes onto the crucible body 321, and the crucible cover 322 closes onto the seed crystal pre-storage crucible 41, thus completing the operation of placing the pre-stored seed crystal on the crucible body 321. With this design, the pre-storage cover 42 and the crucible body 321 cooperate to form the crystal growth crucible assembly 32 for crystal growth. Then, the lifting and transferring unit 31 can be driven to send the crystal growth crucible assembly 32, which has been placed with the seed crystal, upward into the crystal growth furnace mechanism 1 to perform subsequent crystal growth work.
[0035] In summary, the crystal growth furnace equipment of this utility model, through the structural design of the seed preparation mechanism 4 and the seed setting mechanism 5, can ensure that the seed crystal can be well preserved without contamination before being placed into the crystal growth crucible mechanism 3, and can avoid human contamination when the seed crystal is replaced into the crystal growth crucible mechanism 3, so it can indeed achieve the purpose of this utility model.
[0036] The above description is merely an embodiment of this utility model and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this utility model. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims and description of this utility model shall still fall within the scope of this utility model.
Claims
1. A crystal growth furnace apparatus, suitable for supplying seed crystals for crystal growth, characterized in that: Include: Crystal growth furnace structure; A preparatory cavity is located below the crystal growth furnace mechanism; A crystal growth crucible mechanism is disposed in the preparation cavity and includes a lifting and conveying unit and a crystal growth crucible assembly for being fed upward into the crystal growth furnace mechanism by the lifting and conveying unit. The crystal growth crucible assembly has a crucible body and a crucible cover covering the crucible body. A seed preparation mechanism is disposed in the preparation cavity and includes a seed pre-storage crucible and a pre-storage cover covering the seed pre-storage crucible. The pre-storage cover has its bottom surface for placing the seed crystal and can cooperate with the seed pre-storage crucible to pre-seal the seed crystal. A seed crystal setting mechanism is disposed in the preparation cavity and includes a lifting module and a rotating module mounted on the lifting module. The rotating module has two gripping components for picking up and placing the crucible cover and the pre-stored cover, respectively. The lifting module and the rotating module can be controlled to cooperate and drive the gripping components so that the positions of the crucible cover and the pre-stored cover are interchanged.
2. The crystal growth furnace equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The crucible cover has a crucible cover body covering the crucible body and a crucible clamping head disposed on the top of the crucible cover body. The pre-storage cover includes a pre-storage cover body covering the seed crystal pre-storage crucible and a pre-storage clamping head disposed on the top of the pre-storage cover body. The crucible clamping head and the pre-storage clamping head are used for being clamped by the clamping assembly, respectively.
3. The crystal growth furnace equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting module includes a slide rail extending vertically, a slider that can slide vertically on the slide rail, and a transmission component that is disposed on the slide rail and connected to the slider. The transmission component can be controlled to drive the slider to move vertically relative to the slide rail, so that the slider drives the rotating module to move vertically.
4. The crystal growth furnace equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating module also has a motor mounted on the lifting module, and a rotating arm that extends laterally and is connected to the motor at its middle portion, with the clamping components respectively mounted at both ends of the rotating arm.
5. The crystal growth furnace equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: The motor can drive the rotating arm to rotate between the normal position and the exchange position. When the rotating arm is in the normal position, the gripping components are not directly above the crucible cover and the pre-storage cover. When the rotating arm is in the exchange position, the gripping components are respectively located directly above the crucible cover and the pre-storage cover.
6. The crystal growth furnace equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The seed preparation mechanism also includes a pre-stored insulation material disposed around the pre-stored clamping head.
7. The crystal growth furnace equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The crystal growth crucible assembly also includes crucible insulation material disposed around the crucible body and the outer periphery of the crucible cover.