US 12,460,313 B2
Active edge control of a crystalline sheet formed on the surface of a melt
Peter Kellerman, Essex, MA (US); Alison Greenlee, Somerville, MA (US); Parthiv Daggolu, Danvers, MA (US); and Alexander Martinez, Woburn, MA (US)
Assigned to Blue Origin Manufacturing, LLC, Huntsville, AL (US)
Appl. No. 17/801,198
Filed by Blue Origin Manufacturing, LLC, Huntsville, AL (US)
PCT Filed Feb. 19, 2021, PCT No. PCT/US2021/018790
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 19, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/168256, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 26, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/978,484, filed on Feb. 19, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0096046 A1, Mar. 30, 2023
Int. Cl. C30B 15/26 (2006.01); C30B 15/06 (2006.01); C30B 15/10 (2006.01); C30B 29/06 (2006.01)
CPC C30B 15/06 (2013.01) [C30B 15/10 (2013.01); C30B 15/26 (2013.01); C30B 29/06 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for controlling a thickness of a crystalline ribbon grown on a surface of a melt, the apparatus comprising:
a crucible configured to hold the melt;
a cold initializer configured to produce a cooling jet that is directed toward the surface of the melt;
an optical imaging device comprising a camera or a CCD camera configured to, in part, produce an image of at least a portion of the melt and the crystalline ribbon;
a processor comprising electronic circuits, logic gates, multiplexers, programmable logic devices, ASICs, analog or digital controls/switches, microcontrollers, or computing systems, the processor configured to determine, based at least in part on the image, a location of an edge of the crystalline ribbon relative to the melt surface using differences in emissivity and vibration, and to adjust a width and a thickness of the crystalline ribbon on the melt by varying a gas flow or heat of one or more of a plurality of segments based on the determined edge location; and
a segmented thinning controller that includes the plurality of segments that are each configured to output the gas flow or heat, wherein the segmented thinning controller is configured to adjust the width and the thickness of the crystalline ribbon on the melt based on signals received from the processor.