Mixing of the Melts and Crystalline Solutions during the Advanced Monocrystals Growth in the Space Flight

Abstract

Under terrestrial conditions, gravitational forces impede the materials with uniform distribution of components and phases production. Strong thermo gravitational convection leads to instability of crystal growth parameters and limits the possibility of obtaining crystals with a high degree of homogeneity. The first results of crystals growth under microgravity conditions showed the fundamental possibility of obtaining more perfect crystals due to the absence of gravitational convection. However, under microgravity conditions in melts, new opportunities appear for convective processes of a non-gravitational type - Marangoni convection, as well as (in the presence of residual gravity under microgravity conditions) a small thermo gravitational processes, which lead to the problem of advanced homogeneous crystals production. The article presents a new developed method for advanced monocrystals growth under microgravity conditions by solving this problem through the use of controlled vibration in the vibroturbulization process mode for mixing the components of melts and crystalline solutions under conditions of space flight.