Thermal Stresses and Cracks During the Growth of Large-sized Sapphire with SAPMAC Method

本文利用有限元法对冷心放肩微量提拉法(SAPMAC)生长大尺寸蓝宝石单晶过程中的热应力进行了模拟计算,应用临界缺陷理论解释了裂纹的萌生与扩展机理。研究表明,晶体内的热应力主要与晶体生长速率,环境温度和结晶取向有关;较大热应力多出现在结晶界面,放肩、收尾以及直径急剧变化等位置;最大热应力总是出现在籽晶与新生晶体的界面附近。裂纹将在临界缺陷位置产生,并在应力作用下沿a或m面扩展。计算结果与实验结果基本吻合,通过晶体生长系统和生长工艺的改进,对晶体的开裂问题得到了有效的抑制。

Thermal Stresses and Cracks During the Growth of Large-sized Sapphire with SAPMAC Method

The finite-element method has been used to study the thermal stress distribution in large-sized sapphire crystals grown with the sapphire growth technique with micro-pulling and shoulder-expanding at cooled center (SAPMAC) method. A critical defect model has been established to explain the growth and propagation of cracks during the sapphire growing process. It is demonstrated that the stress field depends on the growth rate, the ambient temperature and the crystallizing direction. High stresses always exist near the growth interfaces, at the shoulder-expanding locations, the tailing locations and the sites where the diameters undergo sharp changes. The maximum stresses always occur at the interface of seeds and crystals. Cracks often form in the critical defect region and spread in the m-planes and a-planes under applied tensile stresses during crystal growth. The experimental results have verified that with the improved system of crystal growth and well-controlled techniques, the large-sized sapphire crystals of high quality can be grown due to absence of cracks.