US 12,031,229 B2
Ingot puller apparatus having heat shields with feet having an apex
Jiaying Ke, Spring, TX (US); Sumeet S. Bhagavat, St. Charles, MO (US); Jaewoo Ryu, Chesterfield, MO (US); Benjamin Meyer, Defiance, MO (US); William Luter, St. Charles, MO (US); and Carissima Marie Hudson, St. Charles, MO (US)
Assigned to GlobalWafers Co., Ltd., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed by GlobalWafers Co., Ltd., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed on Nov. 21, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/991,406.
Application 17/991,406 is a continuation of application No. 17/496,535, filed on Oct. 7, 2021, granted, now 11,873,575.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/119,200, filed on Nov. 30, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0083235 A1, Mar. 16, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. C30B 15/10 (2006.01); C30B 15/08 (2006.01); C30B 29/06 (2006.01); C30B 35/00 (2006.01)
CPC C30B 15/10 (2013.01) [C30B 15/08 (2013.01); C30B 29/06 (2013.01); C30B 35/002 (2013.01); Y10T 117/1032 (2015.01); Y10T 117/1068 (2015.01)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ingot puller apparatus for growing a monocrystalline silicon ingot from a melt of silicon, the apparatus comprising:
a housing defining a growth chamber;
a crucible disposed within the growth chamber for containing the melt of silicon;
a heat shield disposed within the growth chamber, the heat shield defining a central passage for receiving the ingot as the ingot is pulled through the growth chamber along a pull axis, the heat shield comprising:
a leg segment that extends along the pull axis, the leg segment comprising a leg segment housing that defines a leg chamber;
insulation disposed within the leg chamber;
a ledge disposed in the leg chamber, the insulation being supported by the ledge, the insulation being separated from the leg segment housing by a gap, the gap being disposed above the ledge; and
a foot that extends from the leg segment at a distal end of the leg segment, wherein a distance between at least a portion of the foot and the pull axis is less than a distance between the leg segment and the pull axis, the foot comprising:
a lower sidewall;
an upper sidewall, the lower sidewall and upper sidewall angling toward each other and forming an apex, the apex being radially spaced from the leg segment; and
wherein the leg segment has a void formed therein.