A low-resistance p-type SiC single crystal containing no inclusions is provided. A method for producing a SiC single crystal in which a SiC seed crystal substrate is contacted with a SiC solution having a temperature gradient such that a temperature of the SiC solution decreases from an interior of the SiC solution toward a surface of the SiC solution, to grow the SiC single crystal, wherein the SiC solution comprises Si, Cr, Al and B, and wherein the Al is comprised in the SiC solution in an amount of 10 at % or greater, based on the total of the Si, Cr, Al and B, and the B is comprised in the SiC solution in an amount of greater than 0.00 at % and no greater than 1.00 at %, based on the total of the Si, Cr, Al and B.

A self-aligned tunable metamaterial is formed as a wire mesh. Self-aligned channel grids are formed in layers in a silicon substrate using deep trench formation and a high-temperature anneal. Vertical wells at the channels may also be etched. This may result in a three-dimensional mesh grid of metal and other material. In another embodiment, metallic beads are deposited at each intersection of the mesh grid, the grid is encased in a rigid medium, and the mesh grid is removed to form an artificial nanocrystal.

A self-aligned tunable metamaterial is formed as a wire mesh. Self-aligned channel grids are formed in layers in a silicon substrate using deep trench formation and a high-temperature anneal. Vertical wells at the channels may also be etched. This may result in a three-dimensional mesh grid of metal and other material. In another embodiment, metallic beads are deposited at each intersection of the mesh grid, the grid is encased in a rigid medium, and the mesh grid is removed to form an artificial nanocrystal.

A preparation method and application of a Na.sub.3Ba.sub.2(B.sub.3O.sub.6).sub.2F birefringent crystal, the crystal having a chemical formula of Na.sub.3Ba.sub.2(B.sub.3O.sub.6).sub.2F, and belonging to a hexagonal crystal system, the space group being P6.sub.3/m, and the lattice parameters comprising a=7.3490(6) , c=12.6340(2) , V=590.93(12) .sup.3, Z=2; the crystal is used for an infrared/deep ultraviolet waveband, and is an uniaxial negative crystal, n.sub.e<n.sub.o, the transmission range being 175-3,350 nm, the birefringence of 0.090 (3,350 nm)-0.240 (175 nm), and the crystal being grown by employing a melting method or a flux method; the crystal prepared via the method has a short growth cycle, high crystal quality and large crystal size, is easy to grow, cut, polish and store, is stable in the air, and difficult to deliquesce, and can be used for preparation of various polarization beam polarization beam splitter prism and infrared/deep ultraviolet waveband optical communication elements.

Provided is a SiC single crystal that has a large growth thickness and contains no inclusions. A SiC single crystal grown by a solution process, wherein the total length M of the outer peripheral section formed by the {1-100} faces on the {0001} growth surface of the SiC single crystal, and the length P of the outer periphery of the growth surface of the SiC single crystal, satisfy the relationship M/P0.70, and the length in the growth direction of the SiC single crystal is 2 mm or greater.

A method of producing a crystal includes a step of preparing a solution containing carbon and a silicon solvent, and a seed crystal of silicon carbide; a step of contacting a lower face of the seed crystal with the solution; a step of raising a temperature of the solution to a first temperature zone; a step of relatively elevating the seed crystal with respect to the solution in a state where a temperature of the solution is being lowered from the first temperature zone to a second temperature zone; a step of raising a temperature of the solution from the second temperature zone to the first temperature zone; and a step of relatively elevating the seed crystal with respect to the solution in a state where a temperature of the solution is being lowered from the first temperature zone to the second temperature zone.

A p-type SiC single crystal having lower resistivity than the prior art is provided. This is achieved by a method for producing a SiC single crystal in which a SiC seed crystal substrate is contacted with a SiC solution having a temperature gradient such that the temperature decreases from the interior toward the surface, to grow a SiC single crystal, the method comprising: using as the SiC solution a SiC solution containing Si, Cr and Al, wherein the Al content is 3 at % or greater based on the total of Si, Cr and Al; and contacting a (0001) face of the SiC seed crystal substrate with the SiC solution to grow a SiC single crystal from the (0001) face.

Techniques for processing materials in supercritical fluids including processing in a capsule disposed within a high-pressure apparatus enclosure are disclosed. The disclosed techniques are useful for growing crystals of GaN, AlN, InN, and their alloys, including InGaN, AlGaN, and AlInGaN for the manufacture of bulk or patterned substrates, which in turn can be used to make optoelectronic devices, lasers, light emitting diodes, solar cells, photoelectrochemical water splitting and hydrogen generation devices, photodetectors, integrated circuits, and transistors.

A large Group III nitride crystal of high quality with few defects such as a distortion, a dislocation, and warping is produced by vapor phase epitaxy. A method for producing a Group III nitride crystal includes: a first Group III nitride crystal production process of producing a first Group III nitride crystal 1003 by liquid phase epitaxy; and a second Group III nitride crystal production process of producing a second Group III nitride crystal 1004 on the first crystal 1003 by vapor phase epitaxy. In the first Group III nitride crystal production process, the surfaces of seed crystals 1003a (preliminarily provided Group III nitride) are brought into contact with an alkali metal melt, a Group III element and nitrogen are cause to react with each other in a nitrogen-containing atmosphere in the alkali metal melt, and the Group III nitride crystals are bound together by growth of the Group III nitride crystals grown from the seed crystals 1003a to produce a first crystal 1003.

A raw material solution (6), in which an organic semiconductor material is dissolved in a solvent, is supplied to a substrate (1). The solvent is evaporated so that crystals of the organic semiconductor material are precipitated. Thus, an organic semiconductor thin film (7) is formed on the substrate (1). An edge forming member (2) having a contact face (2a) on one side is used and located opposite the substrate (1) so that the plane of the contact face (2a) intersects the surface of the substrate (1) at a predetermined angle. The raw material solution (6) is supplied to the substrate (1) and formed into a droplet (6a) that comes into contact with the contact face (2a). The substrate (1) and the edge forming member (2) are moved relative to each other in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate (1) so as to separate the edge forming member (2) from the droplet (6a), and while the raw material solution (6) is supplied so that a change in size of the droplet (6a) with the relative movement is maintained within a predetermined range, the solvent contained in the droplet (6a) is evaporated to form the organic semiconductor thin film (7) on the substrate (1) after the contact face (2a) has been moved. In this manner, a large-area organic semiconductor single crystal thin film having high charge mobility can be manufactured by a simple process using a solvent evaporation method based on droplet formation.