A single crystal manufacturing apparatus to grow a single crystal upward from a seed crystal, the apparatus including an insulated space thermally insulated from a space outside the single crystal manufacturing apparatus, an induction heating coil placed outside the insulated space, a thermal insulation plate that divides the insulated space into a first space including a crystal growth region to grow the single crystal and a second space above the first space and includes a hole above the crystal growth region, a heating element that is placed in the second space and generates heat by induction heating using the induction heating coil to heat the inside of the insulated space, and a support shaft to vertically movably support the seed crystal from below.

An ingot puller for producing a single crystal semiconductor ingot includes a housing defining a growth chamber, a crucible positioned within the growth chamber, an ingot receiving vessel defining an ingot receiving chamber connected with the growth chamber, and a feed assembly for charging semiconductor material to the crucible. The feed assembly includes a dumper for containing the semiconductor material and moveable in the ingot receiving chamber between a raised position and a lowered position. The dumper includes a bottom and a sidewall releasable from the bottom to allow the semiconductor material to exit the dumper. The feed assembly also includes opening pins selectively extendable into and retractable from the ingot receiving chamber. The opening pins engage the dumper when extended into the ingot receiving chamber to release the dumper sidewall from the dumper bottom as the dumper is moved towards the lowered position.

An ingot puller for producing a single crystal semiconductor ingot includes a housing defining a growth chamber, a crucible positioned within the growth chamber, an ingot receiving vessel defining an ingot receiving chamber connected with the growth chamber, and a feed assembly for charging semiconductor material to the crucible. The feed assembly includes a dumper for containing the semiconductor material and moveable in the ingot receiving chamber between a raised position and a lowered position. The dumper includes a bottom and a sidewall releasable from the bottom to allow the semiconductor material to exit the dumper. The feed assembly also includes opening pins selectively extendable into and retractable from the ingot receiving chamber. The opening pins engage the dumper when extended into the ingot receiving chamber to release the dumper sidewall from the dumper bottom as the dumper is moved towards the lowered position.

The present invention provides a metal wire rod composed of iridium or an iridium alloy, wherein the number of crystal grains on any cross-section in a longitudinal direction is 2 to 20 per 0.25 mm.sup.2, and the Vickers hardness at any part is 200 Hv or more and less than 400 Hv. The iridium wire rod is a material which is produced by a -PD method, and has low residual stress and which has a small change in the number of crystal grains and hardness even when heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a recrystallization temperature (1200 C. to 1500 C.). The metal wire rod of the present invention is excellent in oxidative consumption resistance under a high-temperature atmosphere, and mechanical properties.

The present invention provides a metal wire rod composed of iridium or an iridium alloy, wherein the number of crystal grains on any cross-section in a longitudinal direction is 2 to 20 per 0.25 mm.sup.2, and the Vickers hardness at any part is 200 Hv or more and less than 400 Hv. The iridium wire rod is a material which is produced by a -PD method, and has low residual stress and which has a small change in the number of crystal grains and hardness even when heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a recrystallization temperature (1200 C. to 1500 C.). The metal wire rod of the present invention is excellent in oxidative consumption resistance under a high-temperature atmosphere, and mechanical properties.

Disclosed is an electromagnetic casting method of polycrystalline silicon which is characterized in that polycrystalline silicon is continuously cast by charging silicon raw materials into a bottomless cold mold, melting the silicon raw materials using electromagnetic induction heating, and pulling down the molten silicon to solidify it, wherein the depth of solid-liquid interface before the start of the final solidification process is decreased by reducing a pull down rate of ingot in a final phase of steady-state casting. By adopting the method, the region of precipitation of foreign substances in the finally solidified portion of ingot can be reduced and cracking generation can be prevented upon production of a polycrystalline silicon as a substrate material for a solar cell.

Disclosed is an electromagnetic casting method of polycrystalline silicon which is characterized in that polycrystalline silicon is continuously cast by charging silicon raw materials into a bottomless cold mold, melting the silicon raw materials using electromagnetic induction heating, and pulling down the molten silicon to solidify it, wherein the depth of solid-liquid interface before the start of the final solidification process is decreased by reducing a pull down rate of ingot in a final phase of steady-state casting. By adopting the method, the region of precipitation of foreign substances in the finally solidified portion of ingot can be reduced and cracking generation can be prevented upon production of a polycrystalline silicon as a substrate material for a solar cell.

A method for producing a mono-crystalline sheet includes providing at least two aperture elements forming a gap in between; providing a molten alloy including silicon in the gap; providing a gaseous precursor medium comprising silicon in the vicinity of the molten alloy; providing a silicon nucleation crystal in the vicinity of the molten alloy; and bringing in contact said silicon nucleation crystal and the molten alloy. A device for producing a mono-crystalline sheet includes at least two aperture elements at a predetermined distance from each other, thereby forming a gap, and being adapted to be heated for holding a molten alloy including silicon by surface tension in the gap between the aperture elements; a precursor gas supply supplies a gaseous precursor medium comprising silicon in the vicinity of the molten alloy; and a positioning device for holding and moving a nucleation crystal in the vicinity of the molten alloy.

A method for producing a mono-crystalline sheet includes providing at least two aperture elements forming a gap in between; providing a molten alloy including silicon in the gap; providing a gaseous precursor medium comprising silicon in the vicinity of the molten alloy; providing a silicon nucleation crystal in the vicinity of the molten alloy; and bringing in contact said silicon nucleation crystal and the molten alloy. A device for producing a mono-crystalline sheet includes at least two aperture elements at a predetermined distance from each other, thereby forming a gap, and being adapted to be heated for holding a molten alloy including silicon by surface tension in the gap between the aperture elements; a precursor gas supply supplies a gaseous precursor medium comprising silicon in the vicinity of the molten alloy; and a positioning device for holding and moving a nucleation crystal in the vicinity of the molten alloy.

The present invention relates to a method for growing a gallium oxide single crystal and an apparatus for growing a single crystal, and according to one aspect of the present invention, the method includes providing a gallium oxide raw material in a crucible containing iridium, injecting carbon dioxide so that a preset carbon dioxide partial pressure is formed to suppress the loss of iridium, melting the gallium oxide raw material provided in the crucible, and producing a gallium oxide single crystal from the melt.