Crystal Growth by Traveling Heater Method

The traveling heater method (THM) is a powerful and versatile technique for the growth of a great variety of materials, particularly those having a high melting point, those melting noncongruently or exhibiting a first-order phase transition below their melting point. The advantages and issues of THM will be addressed as well as the technology necessary to implement this technique. Variants of THM will be described from examples related to different materials. The effects of segregation, purification, and formation of precipitates or inclusions will be discussed in detail before outlining simulations and modeling of heat and mass transport. Considerable efforts are devoted to the THM growth of single crystals, which are of particular interest to industry for many applications such as electronic, optical, or electro-optical devices. That is why the main issues of the growth of single crystals by THM will be particularly tackled.