Meniscus-defined crystal growth

The many technological innovations in melt crystal growth of semiconductor materials all build on the two basic concepts of confined and meniscus-defined crystal growth. Examples of these two systems are shown schematically in Figure 1. Typical semiconductor materials grown by these and other methods are listed in Table I. The discussion in this section focuses on some of the design variables for each of these methods that affect the quality of the product crystal. The remainder of the chapter addresses the relationship between these issues and the transport processes in crystal growth systems. 

Meniscus-Defined Crystal Growth Systems. In most conventional meniscus-defined growth systems, a seed crystal is dipped into a pool of melt, and the thermal environment is varied so that a crystal grows from the seed as it is pulled slowly out of the pool. Two examples of meniscus-defined growth are shown in Figure 1. The Czochralski (CZ) method (Figure lb) and the closely related liquid-encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) method are batchwise processes in which the crystal is pulled from a crucible with... 

The shape of the melt-fluid interface in a meniscus-defined crystal growth system is set by surface tension, gravitational force, and viscous and dynamic pressure forces on the surface. The Bond number (Bo for hydro-... 

Transitions from steady-state to time-dependent surface-tension-driven motions are well known also and are important in meniscus-defined crystal growth systems. For example, the experiments of Preisser et al. (51) indicate the development of an azimuthal traveling wave on the axisymmetric base flow in a small-scale floating zone. 

Czochralski Crystal Growth Case Study of Meniscus-Defined Growth System... 

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