Real-time analysis and control of melt-chemistry in crystal growing operations

摘要

To improve the control over resistivity of grown single crystalline ingots, to reduce the turn-around time between growth of successive ingots in a particular crystal grower and to enable recycling of otherwise junk material, a sample of a molten material (the "melt") from which the ingot is to be grown is withdrawn from the crystal grower, cooled, and analyzed. Based on the analysis, controlled additional amounts of the material and/or a dopant impurity are added directly to the melt to restore it to a desired chemical composition. Thus, avoidable is costly and time-consuming cooling of the melt and restarting the system with a completely new charge of material and impurity, and achievable is uniformity of resistivity among the successively grown ingots. Preferably the sample is withdrawn from the melt into a quartz tube which is inserted into the system through a port. The sample is rapidly cooled and solidified and inserted into a waveguide system where a microwave absorption measurement provides a number which is readily converted into resistivity of the sample, and then, into doping level of the melt.