Existence and static stability of a capillary free surface appearing in a dewetted Bridgman process. I

TL;DR

This paper provides six theoretical results on the existence and stability of a capillary free surface in dewetted Bridgman crystal growth, supported by numerical analysis for InSb semiconductors.

Contribution

It introduces new theoretical insights into the stability and shape of free surfaces in a specific crystal growth process, with practical implications for semiconductor manufacturing.

Findings

Six theoretical results on free surface existence and stability.

Numerical analysis for InSb semiconductor growth.

Guidelines for seed size and thermal conditions in crystal growth.

Abstract

This paper present six theoretical results concerning the existence and static stability of a capillary free surface appearing in a dewetted Bridgman crystal growth technique. The results are obtained in an axis symmetric 2D model for semiconductors for which the sum of wetting angle and growth angle is less than 180. Numerical results are presented in case of InSb semiconductor growth. The reported results can help, the practical crystal growers, in better understanding the dependence of the free surface shape and size on the pressure difference across the free surface and prepare the appropriate seed size, and thermal conditions before seeding the growth process.