Apparatus for fabricating monocrystals

Abstract

Process and apparatus for fabricating monocrystals from a monocrystaline germ maintained in a lower support by moving a melted portion of a bar of raw material similar to that of the germ, the raw material bar being maintained vertically in an upper support. A heating coil melts the top portion of the germ and the lower end of the raw material bar. The liquid phases obtained by the melting of the germ in the raw material bar to constitute a single molten zone are put into contact. Then the molten zone is stretched so as to obtain a substantially thin thread which becomes solid while crystallizing. The germ-bar unit is gradually moved into the coil radiating field so that a molten zone is held within the inductor field and that a monocrystal is grown from the germ through the thin thread and for producing an initial cone until the base of the cone reaches a predetermined diameter in that the growth is carried on until a cylinder having the diameter of the cone base is obtained. The lower support includes a suspension which is stiffened by means of an auxiliary support, the later being brought into contact with the lower portion of the growing monocrystal, while the germ-bar unit is gradually moved and the lower portion of the monocrystal is secured by pressure to the auxiliary support.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.