Abstract
Indium phosphide (InP) is an important substrate material for light-wave communications, opto-electronics and radiation-resistant solar cells. However, the high cost and low productivity of the current two-step InP crystal growth process remains a severe drawback to its commercial applications. This has motivated many researchers to propose and investigate an innovative scheme of one-step synthesis (by injecting phosphorus vapor into the indium melt) and growth of InP crystals by the liquid-encapsulated Czochralski or Kyropoulos technique. For this one-step process to succeed and produce single crystals of uniform quality, it is important to develop a basic understanding of the mechanisms of energy transport and gas flow in a high-pressure crystal growth (HPCG) system. A series of experiments is conducted to characterize the thermal coupling between the melt and the phosphorus injector and to develop an understanding of the buoyancy-induced flow in a HPCG furnace. The gas flow in a high pressure furnace is turbulent and oscillatory, but radiation dominates the heat transfer. Thermal response of the system is therefore quite stable and predictable. The correlation between temperatures at various locations of the phosphorus injector and the melt is very interesting. The heat of reaction also affects the melt temperature. The phase change phenomenon at the bottom of the phosphorus injector seems to be oscillatory in nature. Theoretical estimates of the strength of gas convection and radiation loss by the melt surface are also presented.
Published Version
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