3D Numerical Analysis of the Asymmetric Three-Phase Line of Floating Zone for Silicon Crystal Growth

Abstract

A numerical simulation has been carried out to study the asymmetric heat transfer, fluid flow, and three-phase line to explain the phenomenon of the spillage of the melt in floating zone (FZ) silicon growth. A three-dimensional high-frequency electromagnetic (EM) field is coupled with the heat transfer in the melt and crystal calculation domains. The current density along the three-phase line is investigated to demonstrate the inhomogeneous heating along the three-phase line. The asymmetric heating is found to affect the flow pattern and temperature distribution of the melt. The three-dimensional solid−liquid interface results show that, below the current supplies, the interface is deflected due to strong heating below the current supplies. The calculated asymmetric three-phase line shows a similar trend as the experimentally observed results. The results indicate that the re-melting and spillage phenomenon could occur below the current supplies.

Keywords

• computer simulation
• floating zone technique
• semiconducting silicon