Dynamics and control of the shape and size of a sitting drop-like meniscus, occurring in single-crystal growth

This paper concerns the following topics: dependence of shape and size of a static meniscus sitting like a drop on the controllable part of pressure difference across the free surface; stability of static menisci; procedure for creation of a stable static meniscus, appropriate for the growth of a rod with constant radius; temperature gradients and crystallization front displacement; equation for crystal dimension change rate; evolution of crystal radius and of the level of crystallization front; and control of cross-section during growth. This kind of problems appears in semiconductor single-crystal rod growth from a melt by edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) technique. The novel case where the upper radius of the meniscus is larger than the shaper radius and the meniscus is sitting like a drop is analyzed. For some of the topics numerical illustrations are given. The obtained results can be useful in experiment planning and technology design of single-crystal rod growth by the EFG method. With this aim this study was undertaken.