Gallium Oxide Single Crystal Casting Without Seed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for growing gallium oxide single crystals require a single crystal seed, which is difficult to obtain and process, and the growth process is complex, limiting the production of large-size high-quality bulk gallium oxide single crystals.
Innovation Solution
A casting method that heats gallium oxide to complete melting, maintains a melt state, and uses gradient cooling without a single crystal seed, allowing nucleation at the cold core and controlling the cooling process to grow large-size bulk gallium oxide single crystals with a diameter of at least 2 inches and a thickness of over 10 mm.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single crystal seed is used for gallium oxide crystal growth, then the crystal growth can be induced and controlled, but the process becomes complex and the seed is difficult to obtain and process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the single crystal seed from the growth system entirely. Instead of using a seed to initiate crystal growth, the invention allows spontaneous nucleation to occur at the cold core of the melt during gradient cooling, thereby eliminating the complex seed handling and processing steps while maintaining reliable crystal growth quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The gallium oxide melt itself provides the nucleation site at its cold core without requiring an external seed. The temperature gradient causes the melt to cool spontaneously at the center, creating a nucleation point that initiates crystal growth self-service fashion, eliminating the need for人工 seed introduction and processing.
2Volume of moving object
If conventional melt methods are used for gallium oxide single crystal growth, then large-size crystals can be produced, but the process requires complex seed introduction and growth control steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the seed introduction step from the growth process. By allowing spontaneous nucleation at the cold core during gradient cooling, the invention achieves large-size crystal production without the complex procedures required for seed handling, making the process simpler while maintaining the ability to produce large crystals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary cooling of the gallium oxide melt to create a temperature gradient before crystal growth initiates. This preliminary action establishes the cold core nucleation site in advance, enabling spontaneous crystal formation without requiring external seeds or complex growth control steps during the actual crystallization process.
3Reliability
If a single crystal seed is introduced from outside the system, then crystal growth can be initiated, but the process requires additional equipment and operational steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the external single crystal seed entirely from the system. Instead of introducing a seed from outside, the invention relies on spontaneous nucleation at the cold core of the melt, thereby simplifying the process by eliminating seed introduction, handling, and processing steps while maintaining reliable crystal growth initiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The gallium oxide melt itself creates the nucleation site through spontaneous cooling at its cold core, eliminating the need for external seed introduction. This self-service mechanism simplifies the manufacturing process by removing the complexity of seed handling and external intervention, while still ensuring reliable crystal growth initiation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method simplifies the crystal growth process, reduces equipment requirements, and achieves high-quality large-size gallium oxide single crystals without the need for a seed, overcoming previous technical barriers and enabling large-scale production.
Implementation Method 1
conducting gradient cooling on a gallium oxide melt obtained in step 1) until a solid gallium oxide single crystal is obtained, where the gradient cooling is to cool the gallium oxide melt obtained in step 1) to a first temperature according to a first gradient, and then continue cooling to a room temperature according to a second gradient
Implementation Method 2
allowing nucleation at the cold core and controlling the cooling process to grow large-size bulk gallium oxide single crystals
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides a method for growing a gallium oxide single crystal by casting and a semiconductor device containing the gallium oxide single crystal. The method includes: 1) heating a solid gallium oxide to complete melting, cooling to a melting point of the gallium oxide, and maintaining a melt state for at least 30 min; and 2) conducting gradient cooling on a gallium oxide melt obtained in step 1) until a solid gallium oxide single crystal is obtained. The gradient cooling is to cool the gallium oxide melt obtained in step 1) to a first temperature according to a first gradient, and then continue cooling to a room temperature according to a second gradient to obtain the gallium oxide single crystal. In step 1), since the solid gallium oxide is heated to the first temperature, oxygen with a volume fraction of at least 2% is present in a growth atmosphere.