Dewetted Bridgman crystal growth: practical stability over a bounded time period in a forced regime

摘要

The concept of practical stability is applied to the case of dewetted Bridgman crystal growth on Earth, in a simplified configuration. Taking into account both heat transfer and capillarity, it is formally demonstrated that the process is stable in case of convex menisci, provided that pressure fluctuations remain in a range which can be computed. The theoretical concepts are illustrated by examples involving InSb and GaSb crystal growth. It is concluded that practical stability gives valuable knowledge of the dynamics of the studied technique and could be usefully applied to other crystal-growth processes, especially those involving capillary shaping.