Melt temperature fluctuations: Causes and response of the solidification front

It is well understood that temperature oscillations and fluctuations during melt growth give rise to fluctuating concentration of solute in the crystal — so-called solute (or impurity) striations. A major source of the temperature fluctuations is the transition to turbulence in the melt resulting from strong buoyancy and/or surface-driven flows. The interaction of these natural convective flows with any imposed rotation is of significance. The major factors causing flow transitions and particularly those which lead to time-dependent flows in Czochralski and float-zone melts will be briefly reviewed and the likely influence of a low-g environment considered. Theoretical analysis and experimental study of the response of the crystal-melt interface to such temperature fluctuations is reviewed and criteria for maximising crystal homogeneity discussed.