Flux method is a method of crystal

Crystal

A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...

 growth where the components of the desired substance are dissolved in a solvent (flux). The method is particularly suitable for crystals needing to be free from thermal strain and it takes place in a crucible

Crucible

A crucible is a container used for metal, glass, and pigment production as well as a number of modern laboratory processes, which can withstand temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter its contents...

 made of non-reactive metal such as platinum

Platinum

Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...

, tantalum

Tantalum

Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory...

, niobium

Niobium

Niobium or columbium , is a chemical element with the symbol Nb and atomic number 41. It's a soft, grey, ductile transition metal, which is often found in the pyrochlore mineral, the main commercial source for niobium, and columbite...

 or other non-reactive elements. However, other common crucible materials include oxides such as Alumina, Zirconia, and Boron nitride

Boron nitride

Boron nitride is a chemical compound with chemical formula BN, consisting of equal numbers of boron and nitrogen atoms. BN is isoelectronic to a similarly structured carbon lattice and thus exists in various crystalline forms...

. Crucibles are normally sealed in evacuated quartz ampoules or reactions take place in controlled atmosphere furnaces. A saturated solution is prepared by keeping the constituents of the desired crystal and the flux at a temperature slightly above the saturation temperature long enough to form a complete solution. Then the crucible is cooled in order to cause the desired crystal to precipitate. Nucleation happens in the cooler part of the crucible. One advantage of this method is that the crystals grown display natural facets so that they can be used for optical experiments without the need for further polishing. A disadvantage is that most flux method syntheses produce relatively small crystals. However, some materials such as the "115" Heavy Fermion

Heavy Fermion

In solid-state physics, heavy fermion materials are a specific type of intermetallic compound, containing elements with 4f or 5f electrons. Electrons, a kind of fermion, found in such materials are sometimes referred to as heavy electrons...

 Superconductors (CeXIn5, X=Co,Ir,Rh) may grow up to a few centimeters. The growth can happen by spontaneous nucleation or growth on a seed

Seed crystal

A seed crystal is a small piece of single crystal/polycrystal material from which a large crystal of the same material typically is to be grown...

.

See also

• Crystallography
  Crystallography
  Crystallography is the experimental science of the arrangement of atoms in solids. The word "crystallography" derives from the Greek words crystallon = cold drop / frozen drop, with its meaning extending to all solids with some degree of transparency, and grapho = write.Before the development of...
  
  
• Verneuil Process
  Verneuil process
  The Verneuil process, also called flame fusion, was the first commercially successful method of manufacturing synthetic gemstones, developed in 1902 by the French chemist Auguste Verneuil. It is primarily used to produce the ruby and sapphire varieties of corundum, as well as the diamond simulants...
  
  
• Czochralski
• Epitaxy
  Epitaxy
  Epitaxy refers to the deposition of a crystalline overlayer on a crystalline substrate, where the overlayer is in registry with the substrate. In other words, there must be one or more preferred orientations of the overlayer with respect to the substrate for this to be termed epitaxial growth. The...
  
  
• Crystal growth
  Crystal growth
  A crystal is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. Crystal growth is a major stage of a crystallization process, and consists in the addition of new atoms, ions, or polymer strings into...
  
  
• Chemical vapor deposition
  Chemical vapor deposition
  Chemical vapor deposition is a chemical process used to produce high-purity, high-performance solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. In a typical CVD process, the wafer is exposed to one or more volatile precursors, which react and/or...
  
  
• Hydrothermal synthesis
  Hydrothermal synthesis
  Hydrothermal synthesis includes the various techniques of crystallizing substances from high-temperature aqueous solutions at high vapor pressures; also termed "hydrothermal method". The term "hydrothermal" is of geologic origin. Geochemists and mineralogists have studied hydrothermal phase...
  
  
• Micro-pulling-down
  Micro-pulling-down
  -Basics:The micro-pulling-down method is a crystal growth technique based on continuous transport of the melted substance through micro-channel made in a crucible bottom. Continuous solidification of the melt is progressed on a liquid/solid interface positioned under the crucible...