Numerical investigation of the effect of shape change in graphite crucible during top-seeded solution growth of SiC

In the present work, a combined 2D-3D numerical simulation was performed to study the effect of shape change in the graphite crucible on the heat transfer, flow pattern, mass transport, and electromagnetic field during top seeded solution growth of SiC considering the dissolution of carbon during crystal growth. The graphite crucible shapes at each growth process time were predicted using 2D axisymmetric steady global heat and mass transfer simulations. The crucible geometries obtained for each time step, including the predicted crucible shapes, were used for 3D unsteady simulations. The investigation revealed a significant effect of the shape change of the crucible on the temperature, Lorentz force distribution induced by the radiofrequency heating system, flow pattern, carbon concentration in the solution, and growth rate of SiC.