HEATING A FURNACE FOR THE GROWTH OF SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL

A multi-ingot furnace for the growth of crystalline semiconductor material has one or more heating devices for heating a hot zone in which crucibles containing semiconductor material are received. At least one of the heating devices is arranged to apply a predetermined differential heat flux profile across a horizontal cross-section of the semiconductor material in one or more of the crucibles, the predetermined differential heat flux profile being selected in dependence the position of the one or more crucibles in an array. In this manner, the heating device can at least partially compensate for differences in the temperature across the semiconductor material that arises from its geometric position in the furnace. This reduces the possibility of defects such as dislocations during the growth of a crystalline semiconductor material. Associated methods are also disclosed.