On the minimization of the surface non-uniformities of a Nd:YAG cylindrical bar grown by edge-defined film-fed growth (E.F.G.) method when the pressure in the furnace changes

In this paper, the dependence of the crystal radius on the pulling rate (v), melt temperature at the meniscus basis (T0), pressure in the furnace (p) and die radius (r0e) is found. Using these dependences, those values of v, T0, p and r0e are found for which the crystal radius variation due to small uncontrollable variations of v, T0, p around some average values causes minimal surface non-uniformities. Numerical results are given for an Nd:YAG cylindrical bar grown in a furnace in which the vertical temperature gradient is k=33(K/mm).