Electromagnetic field application in the processes of single crystal growth under microgravity

Abstract

The paper discusses problems of electromagnetic field employment in space technologies for semiconductor single crystal growth as means to stabilize and suppress residual convective flows of a non-gravity character. Here one can find the data on the steady magnetic field effects on hydrodynamics and heat mass transfer in melt as well as simple criteria dependencies to estimate these effects on the thermogravity and thermocapillary convections are proposed. A possibility of generation of specific additional types of melt convective flows in the steady fields is analyzed here. The example of the thermoelectromagnetic convection illustrates the effect of the above fields of the growth process characteristics. The features of effect of alternating magnetic fields on hydrodynamics and heat mass transfer in melt and at the solidification front are also discussed. A rotating magnetic field serves here as an example of the alternating magnetic field employment for flow stabilization, stirring of many-component melts, change of the solidification front shape, etc. A combination of two types of magnetic fields in one electromagnetic device is proposed in order to control growth processes by combined field effect.