Abstract
A novel process modification, the simultaneous growth of three cylindrical Cr:LiCaAlf6 (Cr:LiCAF) crystals grown from a common seed in a vertical Bridgman furnace of rectangular cross section, is assessed using computational modeling. The analysis employs the FIDAP finite-element package and accounts for three-dimensional, steady-state, conductive heat transfer throughout the system. The induction heating system is rigorously simulated via solution of Maxwell's equations. The implementation of realistic thermal boundary conditions and furnace details is shown to be important. Furnace design features are assessed through calculations, and simulations indicate expected growth conditions to be favorable. In addition, the validity of using ampoules containing "dummy" charges for experimental furnace characterization measurements is examined through test computations.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 261-279 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Journal of Crystal Growth |
| Volume | 132 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 1993 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported in part by the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute and the University of Minnesota Army High Performance Computing Research Center (under the auspices of Army Research Office contract number DAAL03-89-C-0038). Portions of this work were performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) under Contract W-7405-Eng-48. J.J.D. gratefully acknowledges the National Science Foundation for support through the PYI award program, while S.B. is grateful to the personnel of LLNL for their hospitality during his stay in California. In addition, the authors thank J.J. De Yoreo and R.W. Martin of LLNL for their involvement in the ampoule design and early stages of the computational analysis, respectively.