Experimental study of low supersaturation nucleation in crystal growth by "contactless" physical vapor transport

The process of the development of the nuclei and of subsequent seeding in " contactless" physical vapor transport is investigated experimentally. Conse cutive stages of low supersaturation nucleation in the "contactless" geomet ry for the growth of CdTe crystals from the vapor are shown. The effects of the temperature held, geometry of the system, and the experimental procedu res on the process are presented and discussed. The experimental results ar e found to be consistent with our earlier numerical modeling results. (C) 1 999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.