Stabilization of floating liquid zone in preparation of Fe-Si alloy single crystals

If a rod of circular cross section is used in growing single crystals of an iron-silicon alloy by the floating-zone melting technique, the high specific gravity of the material causes the liquid zone to take a form which is unsuitable for transferring h.f. energy by induction heating. The volume of the melt periodically changes and the growth rate of the single crystal fluctuates. The result is non-uniform distribution of solutes and variable cross section of the single crystal. It is shown that it is possible to maintain constant volume of the liquid zone during single crystal growth, using a polycrystalline rod of square cross section as the starting material.