Influence of crystal—melt interface shape on self-seeding and single crystalline quality

The growth of Sb-based crystals (InSb, GaSb etc) was undertaken using resistive heater furnace by vertical directional solidification (VDS) technique. Crystal—melt interface shape during the growth was shown to convert from concave to convex along the crystal axis of the ingots. Many antimonide (Sb) crystals of 8 mm to 18 mm diameter were grown by optimized growth parameters. The forced convection and absence of conducting support to ampoule showed improvement in crystal quality of as grown ingots. Crystals showed preferred orientation and self-seeding. Results on interface shape and crystallinity of ingots were found to be in good agreement with the experiments.