Stabilizing detached Bridgman melt crystal growth: Proportional-integral feedback control

The dynamics, operability limits, and tuning of a proportional-integral feedback controller to stabilize detached vertical Bridgman crystal growth are analyzed using a capillary model of shape stability. The manipulated variable is the pressure difference between upper and lower vapor spaces, and the controlled variable is the gap width at the triple-phase line. Open and closed loop dynamics of step changes in these state variables are analyzed under both shape stable and shape unstable growth conditions. Effects of step changes in static contact angle and growth angle are also studied. Proportional and proportional-integral control can stabilize unstable growth, but only within tight operability limits imposed by the narrow range of allowed meniscus shapes. These limits are used to establish safe operating ranges of controller gain. Strong nonlinearity of the capillary model restricts the range of perturbations that can be stabilized, and under some circumstances, stabilizes a spurious operating state far from the set point. Stabilizing detachment at low growth angle proves difficult and becomes impossible at zero growth angle.

► Detached Bridgman growth can be stabilized by proportional-integral feedback control.
► Integral action can eliminate controller bias offset due to changes in wetting angle.
► Nonlinear dynamics restricts the range of perturbations that can be stabilized.
► Stabilizing detachment proves difficult and becomes impossible at zero growth angle.
► Operability limits on gain are imposed by a narrow range of allowed meniscus shapes.