High-pressure, Laser-based Floating-Zone Crystal Growth

Abstract

The floating zone technique is a well-established single crystal growth method which is able to produce volumetrically large specimens with extremely high purities under a variety of growth environments. This capability has enabled novel research since the sixties, and makes it well-suited to synthesis of quantum materials, but improvements in instrumentation have not proceeded apace. The most widely used furnaces, which largely resemble the original designs, have a strict upper limit in achievable growth pressures. This limitation prevents floating-zone growth of many volatile and/or metastable materials. We detail the development and usage of a laser-based furnace which dramatically increases the applicable growth pressure and widens the applicability of floating-zone growth for synthesis of new materials.