Numerical simulation of crucible rotation in high-temperature solution growth method using a Fourier-Legendre spectral element method

Striation, which is detrimental to the crystal quality, occurs in the inhomogeneous solution concentration field. The accelerated crucible rotation technique (ACRT), a stirring technique, is conceived to alleviate the striation and is commonly used in solution crystal growth. In this paper, the effect of ACRT on the concentration homogenization in high-temperature solution crystal growth method is investigated by a Fourier-Legendre spectral element method, where Gauss-Radau points are chosen for the element involving the origin to avoid the 1/r singularity at r = 0, Gauss-Lobatto points are adopted for other elements in radial direction. Fourier polynomial is applied in azimuthal direction. The time splitting method is used for temporal discretization. Six typical ACRT modes are simulated, and the standard derivation is adopted to evaluate the homogeneous level of solution concentration. As a result, the optimum ACRT mode and time period are suggested. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.