High Dynamic Gas Pressure Single Crystal Growth: My PARADIM REU Experience

The growth of single crystals is crucial to the advancement of Solid State Physics. With these crystals, neutron scattering that accounts for the directionality of the crystal can be performed, allowing for a much deeper exploration of a material’s low temperature magnetic phases. This summer I had the fantastic opportunity to study single crystal growth on one of the world’s premier floating zone furnaces, the 300 bar optical floating zone furnace at Johns Hopkins University. This furnace opens up an entirely new area of phase space where crystal growth can occur, allowing for large single crystals to be grown in materials where this is impossible at lower pressures. This machine is available for users through the Platform for the Accelerated Realization, Analysis, & Discovery of Interface Materials (PARADIM). It is important for potential users to know the benefits this machine offers, the different techniques that can be used with it, and what potential challenges will arise when operating this furnace. This presentation will be a summary of my experience with the 300 bar optical floating zone furnace that will provide potential users with the information they need to know to successfully grow large single crystals of their material.