Numerical simulation of temperature and pressure fields in CdTe growth experiment in the Material Science Laboratory (MSL) onboard the International Space Station in relation to dewetting

A global thermal modelling of a cadmium telluride (CdTe) space experiment has been performed to determine the temperature field within the sample cartridge assembly of the Material Science Laboratory–low gradient furnace (MSL-LGF) apparatus. Heat transfer and phase change have been treated with a commercial CFD software based on a control volume technique. This work underlines the difficult compromise between enhancing the crystal quality and the occurrence of the dewetting phenomenon when using a Cd overpressure or inert gas in the ampoule.