Analytical and numerical studies of the meniscus equation in the case of crystals grown in zero gravity conditions by the Dewetted Bridgman technique.
Résumé
On the physical point of view, the dewetting phenomenon is governed by the Young-Laplace equation of a capillary surface in equilibrium, which is a nonlinear partial differential equation of second order. Starting from this equation, an analytical expression of the meniscus surface in zero gravity condition was established, leading to important information about the meniscus shape, useful for further stability analysis of the growth process. The analytical results were validated by the numerical studies. Therefore, the Young-Laplace equation has been solved numerically, in the axi-symmetric case, using the adaptive 4th order Runge-Kutta method for InSb crystals.