IP Library Granted Patent US 12,686,947
Granted Patent B2
US 12,686,947 · App. 17/965,965 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

SiC ingot and SiC wafer

Inventor: Yoshitaka Nishihara (Chichibu, JP)
Assignee: Resonac Corporation
C30B29/66C30B29/36
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,686,947
App. No.
17/965,965
Filed
Oct 14, 2022
Granted
Jul 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
1784
USPC
428/357
Abstract

A SiC ingot includes a seed crystal and a single crystal grown on the seed crystal, wherein the single crystal has therein a micropipe passing through the single crystal in a growth direction, and when photoluminescence observation is performed on a plurality of wafers cut out from the single crystal in a direction intersecting the growth direction, an S/N ratio of the micropipe in a first wafer cut out of the plurality of wafers, which is closest to the seed crystal, is higher than an S/N ratio of the micropipe in a second wafer cut out from a position further away from the seed crystal than the first wafer.

Claims (30)

1 . A SiC ingot, comprising:

a seed crystal; and

a single crystal grown on the seed crystal,

wherein the single crystal has therein one or more micropipes passing through the single crystal in a growth direction, and impurities that are nitrogen, boron, aluminum, titanium, and vanadium, and

when photoluminescence observation is performed on a plurality of wafers cut out from the single crystal in a direction intersecting the growth direction, an S/N ratio of the one or more micropipes in a first wafer cut out of the plurality of wafers, which is closest to the seed crystal, is higher than an S/N ratio of the one or more micropipes in a second wafer cut out from a position further away from the seed crystal than the first wafer,

the S/N ratio of the one or more micropipes in the first wafer is 1.5 or more,

the S/N ratio of the one or more micropipes in the second wafer is 0.75 or less, and

wherein a concentration difference between impurity concentrations in a first region corresponding to the first wafer and impurity concentrations in a second region corresponding to the second wafer, which is 10 mm or more away from the first region in the growth direction, satisfies the following relationships:

impurity concentration difference of titanium: 1×10 16 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more

impurity concentration difference of vanadium: 1×10 14 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more, and

in the single crystal, impurity concentrations on the outermost surface on the terminal side in the growth direction satisfy the following relationships:

impurity concentration of titanium: 1×10 15 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more

impurity concentration of vanadium: 1×10 14 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more

a total impurity concentration of the impurities in the first region is higher than that in the second region, and

the total impurity concentration of the first region is 1×10 14 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more and the total impurity concentration of the second region is 2×10 19 impurity atoms/cm 3 or less.

2 . The SiC ingot according to claim 1 , wherein the closer the wafer is cut from the seed crystal, the higher the S/N ratio of the one or more micropipes in the wafer is.

3 . The SiC ingot according to claim 1 , wherein the closer the wafer is cut from the seed crystal, the higher the total impurity concentration in the wafer is.

4 . The SiC ingot according to claim 1 , wherein a diameter of the single crystal is 150 mm or more.

5 . The SiC ingot according to claim 1 , wherein a diameter of the single crystal is 200 mm or more.

6 . A SiC wafer which is cut out from the SiC ingot according to claim 1 .

7 . The SiC wafer according to claim 6 , wherein the density of the micropipes is 0.003 cm −2 or more and 10 cm −2 or less.

8 . The SiC ingot according to claim 1 ,

wherein the concentration difference between impurity concentrations in the first region and impurity concentrations in the second region satisfies the following relationships:

impurity concentration difference of nitrogen: 1×10 18 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more,

impurity concentration difference of boron: 3×10 16 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more, and

impurity concentration difference of aluminum: 3×10 16 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more, and

in the single crystal, impurity concentrations on the outermost surface on the terminal side in the growth direction satisfy the following relationships:

impurity concentration of nitrogen: 1×10 18 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more,

impurity concentration of boron: 1×10 15 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more, and

impurity concentration of aluminum: 1×10 15 impurity atoms/cm 3 or more.

Assignments (3)
CHANGE OF ADDRESS Recorded Feb 9, 2024
From: RESONAC CORPORATION
To: RESONAC CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 066547/0677 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jun 23, 2023
From: SHOWA DENKO K.K.
To: RESONAC CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 064082/0513 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 14, 2022
From: NISHIHARA, YOSHITAKA
To: SHOWA DENKO K.K.
Reel/Frame 061424/0517 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2021-170268 · Oct 18, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230122232A1 · Apr 20, 2023
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