CapeSym develops novel processing techniques for production of high quality materials for sensors and detectors. It has a number of ongoing activities, including detached growth of CZT crystals and growth of high purity SiC crystals.
Detached Growth of II-VI CrystalsIn the detached growth process, the deleterious interaction of the growing crystal and the ampoule wall is eliminated by maintaining a small meniscus between the ampoule wall and the growing crystal. Detached growth is maintained by actively balancing the pressure below the meniscus against the hydrostatic head of the melt column. Crystals grown by the detached method have significantly better material properties. A telling effect of the influence of attachment was observed in detached and partially-detached growth of Ge in NASA, as shown below. At CapeSym we have developed a fully automated feedback-controlled system for detached crystal growth. This process has been used to grow detached Ge and CZT crystals with extremely low structural defects. |
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High Purity Silicon Carbide Crystal GrowthSiC is the material of choice for next generation power switching devices. CapeSym has developed a novel method for growth of high purity SiC, using a patented process. This so called High Temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition, (HTCVD) process has produced undoped semi-insulating crystals (resistivity ~10^6 ohm-cm) at extremely fast growth rates. |
