VGF growth of germanium single crystals without crucible contact

Stabilizing detached Bridgman melt crystal growth: Proportional-integral feedback control

“…The absence of mechanical stress at the crystal surface allows growth of II-VI compound semiconductor crystals that exhibit dislocation levels up to two orders of magnitude less than earth-grown crystals and are largely free of twins intersecting the crystal surface [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Large reductions in defects have also been observed in growth of type IV [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and III-V compounds [1][2][3][22][23][24]. Detached Bridgman growth brings together the advantage of low contact stress characteristic of Czochralski growth with the advantage of low thermal gradients characteristic of conventional Bridgman growth.…”

Existence and shapes of menisci in detached Bridgman growth

“…The contact angle of Ge on pyrolitic boron nitride (pBN) has been measured to be as high as 1731 [5]. Utilizing pBN crucibles, and by controlling the pressure differential, Ge has been grown detached by the Bridgman [6,7] and vertical gradient freeze (VGF) [8,9] techniques. The contact angles of InSb and GaSb on SiO 2 are only 1101 and 1191, respectively [10].…”

Study on the trace moisture influence on the adhesion phenomenon in Cd-based crystal growth

“…4,5 However, the sticking of the crystal on the crucible resulting in stress concentration is an unavoidable issue, 6 which brings many drawbacks such as pollution, parasitic grain nucleation, dislocations, and even cracks. [7][8][9][10][11] In crystal growth systems, the sticking phenomenon depends critically on the adhesion energy of the solidified liquid/crucible couple besides the thermoelasticity of the crystal. 12 A high adhesion energy is generally perceived as attributable to the wetting or the chemical reaction between the melt and the solid crucible.…”

“…4,5 However, the sticking of the crystal on the crucible resulting in stress concentration is an unavoidable issue, 6 which brings many drawbacks such as pollution, parasitic grain nucleation, dislocations, and even cracks. 7–11…”