Rotating magnetic fields: Fluid flow and crystal growth applications

Rotating or alternating magnetic fields are widely used in the industrial steel casting process or in metallurgical manufacturing. For the growth of single crystals, these techniques attracted a rapidly increasing attention within the last years: a well defined melt flow leads to a more homogeneous temperature and concentration distribution in the melt and consequently improves the growth process. Rotating magnetic fields (RMF) might be used instead of crucible and/or crystal rotation avoiding mechanically induced disturbances or might be added to conventional rotation mechanisms to gain a further flow control parameter. Compared to static magnetic fields, rotating ones are distinguished by a much lower energy consumption and technical effort. Furthermore, there are no reports on detrimental effects such as the generation of thermoelectromagnetic convection or coring effects in the grown crystals. One advantage of rotating magnetic fields is the possibility to apply them even to melts with a rather low electrical conductivity like e.g. aqueous solutions. High flow velocities are already generated with moderate fields. Therefore the field strength has to be adjusted with care because otherwise undesirable Taylor vortices might be induced. In the last years, the potential of rotating magnetic fields for crystal growth processes was demonstrated for model arrangements using e.g. gallium or mercury as a test liquid as well as for a variety of growth techniques like Float Zone, Czochralski, Bridgman, or Travelling Heater Methods: Fluctuations of the heat transport due to time-dependent natural convection have could be reduced by more than an order of magnitude or the mass transport could be improved with respect to the a better radial symmetry and/or a more homogeneous microscopic segregation.