A technique for growing helium crystals in preferred orientations

✍ Scribed by D.T. Lawson

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1973
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 521 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0011-2275
• DOI: 10.1016/0011-2275(73)90204-x

✦ Synopsis

An apparatus has been developed in which hcp He4 single crystals of high quafity are grown with a 0.3 probability of obtaining c-axis orientations of 0 or 90 ° with respect to the direction of growth. Methods of influencing the relative distribution of crystals between these two angles have been observed and are believed to depend on the anisotropy in the thermal conductivity of hcp He 4. A simple computer simulation of the nucleation process supports our identification.of the orientation angles and our explanation of the observed orientation preferences Some possible applications of similar techniques have been surveyed.