| 摘要 |
Improvements in apparatus for zone refining polycrystalline semiconductor rods to produce monocrystalline semiconductor rods are disclosed. In the apparatus, an inductive heating chamber is employed which has a longitudinal dimension independent of the length of the polycrystalline semiconductor rod to be processed. The longitudinal dimension of the induction heating chamber is limited only by considerations of the space required for the RF induction heating coil and related apparatus which must be mounted within the chamber, the viewing space required for the operator to observe the zone refining process, and the heating effect on the structures above and below the chamber. First and second gas tight bellows are provided which, respectively, surround the rod holder and the seed holder. One end of each of the first and second bellows is releasably and sealingly attached to the induction heating chamber, while the other end of each of the first and second bellows is attached to the base of the rod holder or seed holder, respectively. These bellows expand and collapse with the relative movement of the rod holder and seed holder with respect to the induction heating chamber. Moreover, with the rod holder displaced from the induction heating chamber, the first bellows may be detached from the chamber and collapsed to facilitate mounting a polycrystalline semiconductor rod to be refined in the rod holder, and when the refining process is complete and the seed holder is displaced from the chamber, the second bellows can be detached from the chamber and collapsed to facilitate the removal of the refined monocrystalline rod from the seedholder. In order to protect the lower most bellows from molten semiconductor, a plurality of telescoping metallic cylinders are positioned within the bellows and concentric therewith.
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