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  • GIA, Sapphire Series Part 2 - The Next Generation of Sapphire Crystal Growth Techniques - Research & News

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    kaveh25
    66 vizualizări3 pagini
    The document summarizes the next generation of sapphire crystal growth techniques developed to meet increasing demand for larger, more perfect crystals. It discusses five main techniques: 1) Czochralski, introduced in 1960, which can produce high-quality crystals by precisely controlling the growth rate; 2) edge-defined film-fed growth, introduced in 1962, which allows production of sheets and tubes; 3) horizontal directional solidification, introduced in 1964, which freezes the crystal from one side of the crucible to the other; 4) heat exchanger method, introduced in 1967, which yields some of the finest optical-quality sapphire; and 5) Kyropoulos growth, introduced in 1980, which

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    Sapphire Series Part 2

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    The document summarizes the next generation of sapphire crystal growth techniques developed to meet increasing demand for larger, more perfect crystals. It discusses five main techniques: 1) Czochralski, introduced in 1960, which can produce high-quality crystals by precisely controlling the growth rate; 2) edge-defined film-fed growth, introduced in 1962, which allows production of sheets and tubes; 3) horizontal directional solidification, introduced in 1964, which freezes the crystal from one side of the crucible to the other; 4) heat exchanger method, introduced in 1967, which yields some of the finest optical-quality sapphire; and 5) Kyropoulos growth, introduced in 1980, which

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Descărcați ca PDF, TXT sau citiți online pe Scribd
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    66 vizualizări3 pagini

    GIA, Sapphire Series Part 2 - The Next Generation of Sapphire Crystal Growth Techniques - Research & News

    Încărcat de

    kaveh25
    The document summarizes the next generation of sapphire crystal growth techniques developed to meet increasing demand for larger, more perfect crystals. It discusses five main techniques: 1) Czochralski, introduced in 1960, which can produce high-quality crystals by precisely controlling the growth rate; 2) edge-defined film-fed growth, introduced in 1962, which allows production of sheets and tubes; 3) horizontal directional solidification, introduced in 1964, which freezes the crystal from one side of the crucible to the other; 4) heat exchanger method, introduced in 1967, which yields some of the finest optical-quality sapphire; and 5) Kyropoulos growth, introduced in 1980, which

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    din 3

    apphireeriePart2:

    TheNextGenerationofapphireCrtalGrowth
    Technique
    JenniferStoneSundberg

    August6,2013
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    Figure1.Thesephotosshowflamefusionsyntheticsapphirecrystals,asgrown(left)andduringgrowthinthefurnace(right).CourtesyofHrandDjevahirdjian,SA.

    Previouslywetoucheduponthebasicscienceofsapphire(http://www.gia.edu/gianewsresearchSapphireSeriesIntroductiontoSapphireand
    SyntheticSapphire)itsmineralogy,chemistry,andphysicsandalsoitsappealasagemstoneandinsomeindustrialapplications.Havinglookedat
    thefirstbreakthroughsinsynthesis,wenowturntothenextgenerationofgrowthtechniquesdevelopedtomeetthedemandforlarger,moreperfect
    crystals.Asmentioned,muchofthesapphiregrownbytheearlyflamefusionmethodisusedashighpurityfeedstockfortheseadvancedgrowth
    techniques(figure1).
    Bulksapphirecrystalsareindustriallyproducedusingvariousmethodsandcanbesummarizedbroadlyaseithersolutionormeltgrown.Solution
    growthinvolvesusingsolventssuchaswater(hydrothermal)orotherchemicals(flux)tocreatethecrystalatatemperaturebelowitsmeltingpoint.
    MeltgrowthisachievedbybringingtheAl2O3allthewaytoitsmeltingtemperature(2040C)inacrucible.Startingwithaspecificallyorientedseed,a
    largecrystalisformedeitherbypullingoutaportionofthemeltorbydirectionallycooling(gradientfreezing)themeltinthecrucible.Melttechniques
    arethefocushere,asindustrydemandslarge,specificallyorientedcrystals.Wewillexploretwopullingtechniques,twogradientfreezingtechniques,
    andonehybrid.
    In1960,theCzochralskigrowthtechnique,amethodintroducedin1918thatinvolvesrotatingandpullingacrystaloutofamoltensolutionina
    crucible,wasfirstappliedtosapphire.Thistechniqueisstillverysignificanttodayforsapphireandawidevarietyofothercrystallinematerials
    (includingsilicon)becauseitcanproducesomeofthehighestqualitycrystalsintermsofbothpurityanddefects.Thequalityoftheseproductsstems
    mainlyfromthepreciselycontrolledgrowthrate,madepossiblebycarefullyadjustingthepowerrequiredforheatingbasedonamasscontrolled
    feedbackloop.AnotherfactorthatmakestheCzochralskitechniquesoinvaluableistheabilitytocontrolthedistributionofintentionallyadded
    impuritiesindopedcrystals.Thisisaccomplishedbyremovingonlyafractionofthemoltensolutionratherthanfreezingtheentiremelt(figure2).

    Figure2.ACzochralskigrownsyntheticrubycrystalisshownalongsideafabricatedpiece(left),andduringremovalfromthegrowthstation(right).PhotosbyJenniferStone
    Sundberg.

    In1962,theedgedefinedfilmfedgrowthtechniquewasfirstappliedtosapphire.Thisallowedfortheproductionoftubes,sheets,andotherhighly
    specifiedprofilesbypullingthesapphiremeltthroughashapeddie.Asthedemandforprotectivesapphirewindowsincreasesforawidevarietyofend
    uses,thistechniquewillcontinuetoberefined(figure3).Thenextpartoftheserieswilldescribetheseapplicationsmorefully.

    Figure3.Shownherearesyntheticsapphiresheetcrystalsfromedgedefinedfilmfedgrowth(left)andagrowthmachinethatusesthistechnique(right).PhotoscourtesyofGT
    AdvancedTechnologies.

    In1964,KhachikBagdasarovintroducedauniquegradientfreezetechniqueinwhichthecrystalisfrozenfromonesideofthecrucibletotheother:
    thehorizontaldirectionalsolidificationmethod.Prof.Bagdasarovstillusesthisprocesstoproducesapphireandothercrystals.In1967,Frederick
    Schmidintroducedanothergradientfreezetechnique,theheatexchangermethod,formakinglargeingotsofvariouscrystals(figure4).Thistechnique
    hasyieldedsomeofthefinestopticalqualitysapphireandisnowownedbyGTAdvancedTechnologies,whichproducesfurnacesbasedonthis
    techniqueunderthebrandnameAdvancedSapphireFurnace.

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    Figure4.Thetwocrystalsonthetopleftweregrownbytheheatexchangermethod,usingthegrowthequipmentpicturedonthetopright.Aschematicofthegrowthprocessis
    shownonthebottom.CourtesyofGTAdvancedTechnologies.

    TheKyropoulosgrowthmethod,whichcombinesaspectsofboththeCzochralskiandgradientfreezetechniques,wasfirstappliedtosapphirein
    1980.SimilartotheCzochralskitechnique,thismethodinvolvesrotatingaseedincontactwiththemelt,butthecrystalisnotpulledoutofthemelt.
    Instead,themeltinsidethecrucibleiscooledinaverycontrolledfashion.TheKyropoulostechniquehasgainedwidespreadusebecauseofitsability
    toproduceextremelylarge(upto100kg)highqualitysapphirecrystals(figure5).

    Figure5.ThiscrystalwasgrownbytheKyropoulosmethod,usingtheequipmentshownontheright.CourtesyofGTAdvancedTechnologies.

    Beyondtimepiecebearingsandscratchresistantwatchfaces,whatarethehightechapplicationsofsapphire?Theseuses,whichcapitalizeonthe
    materialsdesirablemechanical,optical,physical,chemical,andstructuralproperties,willbediscussedinthethirdpartofthisseries.

    AOUTTHAUTHOR

    JenniferStoneSundbergismanagingdirectoratCrystalSolutions,LLC,andatechnicaleditorofGems&Gemology.Shespecializesincrystal
    growthandcharacterizationtechnology.

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