Crystal Temperature Control in the Czochralski Crystal Growth Process

This work proposes a control configuration and a nonlinear multivariable model-based feedback controller for the reduction of thermal gradients inside the crystal in the Czochralski crystal growth process after the crystal radius has reached its final value. Initially, a mathematical model which describes the evolution of the temperature inside the crystal in the radial and axial directions and accounts for radiative heat exchange between the crystal and its surroundings and motion of the crystal boundary is derived from first principles. This model is numerically solved using Galerkin’s method and the behavior of the crystal temperature is studied to obtain valuable insights which lead to the precise formulation of the control problem, the design of a new control configuration for the reduction of thermal gradients inside the crystal and the derivation of a simplified 1-D in a space dynamic model. Then, a model reduction procedure for partial differential equation systems with time-dependent spatial domains (Armaou and Christofides, 1999) based on a combination of Galerkin’s method with approximate inertial manifoldcs is used to construct a fourth-order model that describes the dominant thermal dynamics of the Czochralski process. This low-order model is employed for the synthesis of a fourth-order nonlinear multivariable controller that can be readily implemented in practice. The proposed control scheme is successfully implemented on a Czochralski process used to produce a 0.7 m long silicon crystal with a radius of 0.05 m and is shown to significantly reduce the axial and radial thermal gradients inside the crystal. The robustness of the proposed controller with respect to model uncertainty is demonstrated through simulations.