Surface structure of large germanium single crystals

The dependence between structural-defect generation and the growth kinetics of germanium single crystals pulled from melts is investigated via selective chemical etching and the optical, atomic-force and scanning electron microscopy techniques. It is ascertained that the surface microrelief of germanium crystals grown from melts by means of directional crystallization contains protrusions and cavities with spatial periodicities of 5 and 50 μm. The values of the kinetic coefficients are estimated. It is demonstrated that the main part of the crystals is formed according to the normal mechanism with the kinetic coefficients β_k = 2 × 10^?5 m s^?1 K^?1.