Numerical simulation of thermal and mass transport during Czochralski crystal growth of sapphire

The thermal and flow transport in an inductively heated Czochralski crystal growth furnace during a crystal growth process is investigated numerically. The temperature and flow fields inside the furnace, coupled with the heat generation in the iridium crucible induced by the electromagnetic field generated by the RF coil, are computed. The results indicate that for an RF coil fixed in position during the growth process, although the maximum value of the magnetic, temperature and velocity fields decrease, the convexity of the crystal-melt interface increases for longer crystal growth lengths. The convexity of the crystal-melt interface and the power consumption can be reduced by adjusting the relative position between the crucible and the induction coil during growth. (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim