The invention relates to a method for growing a bulk single crystal, wherein the method comprises the steps of inserting a starting material into a crucible, melting the starting material in the crucible by heating the starting material, arranging a thermal insulation lid at a distance above a melt surface of said melt such that at least a central part of the melt surface is covered by the lid, and growing the bulk single crystal from the melt by controllably cooling the melt with the thermal insulation lid arranged above the melt surface.

A gas phase nanowire growth apparatus including a reaction chamber, a first input and a second input. The first input is located concentrically within the second input and the first and second input are configured such that a second fluid delivered from the second input provides a sheath between a first fluid delivered from the first input and a wall of the reaction chamber.

Methods and wafers for low etch pit density, low slip line density, and low strain indium phosphide are disclosed and may include an indium phosphide single crystal wafer having a diameter of 4 inches or greater, having a measured etch pit density of less than 500 cm.sup.−2, and having fewer than 5 dislocations or slip lines as measured by x-ray diffraction imaging. The wafer may have a measured etch pit density of 200 cm.sup.−2 or less, or 100 cm.sup.−2 or less, or 10 cm.sup.−2 or less. The wafer may have a diameter of 6 inches or greater. An area of the wafer with a measured etch pit density of zero may at least 80% of the total area of the surface. An area of the wafer with a measured etch pit density of zero may be at least 90% of the total area of the surface.

Provided is a cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) single crystal including a main surface that has a high mobility lifetime product (μτ product) in a wide range, wherein the main surface has an area of 100 mm.sup.2 or more and has 50% or more of regions where the μτ product is 1.0×10.sup.−3 cm.sup.2/V or more based on the entire main surface, and a method for effectively producing the same.

The present invention discloses a directional solidification method for a superalloy single crystal blade based on solid-liquid interface steady control. The method establishes effective criteria for withdrawal speed adjustment, i.e. the related position between a macro solid-liquid interface and a thermal baffle, the range between the dendrite tips at the solid-liquid interface, and the difference between the advance speed of the macro solid-liquid interface and the withdrawal speed. With these criteria, the advance of the solid-liquid interface during directional solidification is simulated and a withdrawal speed curve v(t) for the solid-liquid interface steady advancement was obtained. And then, the single crystal blade was prepared.

A method of additively manufacturing includes generating a thermal model driven scan map that identifies an equiaxed cap region, a single crystal (SX) region, and a columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) region; and forming an active melt pool with respect to the thermal model driven scan map such that a depth of the active melt pool is greater than a thickness of the equiaxed transition (CET) region.

Methods and wafers for low etch pit density, low slip line density, and low strain indium phosphide are disclosed and may include an indium phosphide single crystal wafer having a diameter of 4 inches or greater, having a measured etch pit density of less than 500 cm.sup.−2, and having fewer than 5 dislocations or slip lines as measured by x-ray diffraction imaging. The wafer may have a measured etch pit density of 200 cm.sup.−2 or less, or 100 cm.sup.−2 or less, or 10 cm.sup.−2 or less. The wafer may have a diameter of 6 inches or greater. An area of the wafer with a measured etch pit density of zero may at least 80% of the total area of the surface. An area of the wafer with a measured etch pit density of zero may be at least 90% of the total area of the surface.

The present disclosure relates to the field of directional solidification, and in particular, to an apparatus, method, and process for directional solidification by liquid metal spraying enhanced cooling (LMSC). The process has the following beneficial effects: the apparatus of the present disclosure can regulate a solidification structure of a casting, refine a dendrite spacing, and reduce or avoid metallurgical defects, and can be used to prepare high-quality large-sized columnar/single crystal blades or other castings.

A crucible device includes a heating chamber, at least a first crucible in which a first crystal is growable, and at least a second crucible in which a second crystal is growable. The first crucible and the second crucible are arranged within the heating chamber spaced apart from each other along a horizontal and vertical and any orientational direction. The crucible device further comprises a heating system arranged within the heating chamber, wherein the heating system is configured for adjusting a temperature along the horizontal and vertical and any orientational directions.

Using processes disclosed herein, materials and structures are created and used. For example, processes can include melting amorphous carbon doped with nitrogen and carbon-13 into an undercooled state followed by quenching. Materials disclosed herein may include dopants in concentrations exceeding thermodynamic solubility limits.