Apparatus and methods of growing void-free crystalline ceramic products
AssigneeSapphire Systems Inc.
InventorJohn O. Outwater
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for eliminating voids and improving crystal quality in shaped ceramic product, e.g. sapphire fiber or silicon sheet, from a melt by using a sloped die tip. The sloped die tip or array thereof comprises an outer sidewall which is sloped outwardly at an angle of 5° to 40° from the vertical.
Claims6
An Edge-defined Film-fed Growth (EFG) apparatus comprising a vessel suitable for holding a melt of crystalline ceramic material, means for heating said vessel to provide said melt, a die adapted to receive melt from said vessel, said die including a top surface, a bore extending through said die for providing melt from said vessel to said top surface, and means for pulling solidifying melt from said top surface, said die comprising a sidewall extending downwardly and outwardly from the said top surface, said sidewall being sloped at an angle of 5° to 40° from the vertical, whereby melt pulled from said surface is solidified to provide a product which is essentially free of voids, the angle of said sidewall functioning to maintain a relatively uniform temperature for the melt across the entire top surface while said melt is pulled therefrom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.