Numerical examination of the effect of steady crucible rotation in the liquid phase diffusion growth of SiGe

• Liquid phase diffusion growth of SiGe crystals was numerically simulated.
• The effect of steady crucible rotation was studied.
• Steady crucible rotation is effective in suppressing natural convection.
• Marginal interface flattening effect is predicted.
• Radial composition uniformity is found to improve after early growth hours.

A numerical simulation study has been carried out to investigate the influence of steady crucible rotation on the LPD growth of SixGe1−x. Results reveal the effectiveness of suppressing natural convection driven flows with the application of ampoule rotation. Improvement in the uniformity of radial composition of the growing crystal is predicted after two hours of growth for the remaining simulated growth period. Further, a marginal reduction in the growth interface curvature due to crucible rotation is also observed in the results. Numerical computation shows the potential of crucible rotation as a viable alternative to static magnetic field in inhibiting buoyancy induced flows in the LPD growth of SixGe1−x.