Two-Dimensional Simulations on Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow for Yttrium Aluminium Garnet Single-Crystal Fiber in Laser-Heated Pedestal Growth System

Abstract

Heat transfer and fluid flow in a laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG) system are analyzed near the deformed interfaces. The global thermal distributions of the crystal fiber, the melt, and the source rod are described by their temperature and axial gradient over a length of ∼10 mm. Compared with the growth of bulk crystal of several centimeters in diameter, natural convection is 6 orders of magnitude smaller owing to the smaller melt volume; therefore, conduction rather than convection determines the temperature distribution in the molten zone. Moreover, thermocapillary convection rather than mass-transfer convection becomes dominant. The symmetry and mass flow rate of the double eddy pattern are significantly influenced by the molten-zone shape owing to the diameter reduction and the surface-tension-temperature coefficient when it is more than 10-4–10-3 dyn cm-1 K-1.