Editing Czochralski method (section)

{{short description|Method of crystal growth}}
{{Crystallization}}
The '''Czochralski method''', also '''Czochralski technique''' or '''Czochralski process''', is a method of [[crystal growth]] used to obtain [[single crystal]]s (monocrystals) of [[semiconductors]] (e.g. [[silicon]], [[germanium]] and [[gallium arsenide]]), metals (e.g. [[palladium]], platinum, silver, gold), salts and synthetic [[gemstone]]s. The method is named after Polish scientist [[Jan Czochralski]],<ref>Paweł Tomaszewski, "Jan Czochralski i jego metoda. Jan Czochralski and his method" (in Polish and English), Oficyna Wydawnicza ATUT, Wrocław–Kcynia 2003, {{ISBN|83-89247-27-5}}</ref> who invented the method in 1915 while investigating the crystallization rates of metals.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |author=J. Czochralski |year=1918 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x030529785;view=1up;seq=227 |title=Ein neues Verfahren zur Messung der Kristallisationsgeschwindigkeit der Metalle [A new method for the measurement of the crystallization rate of metals] |journal=Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie |volume=92 |pages=219–221|doi=10.1515/zpch-1918-9212 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> He made this discovery by accident: instead of dipping his pen into his inkwell, he dipped it in molten [[tin]], and drew a tin filament, which later proved to be a [[single crystal]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nishinaga|first1=Tatau|title=Handbook of Crystal Growth: Fundamentals|date=2015|publisher=Elsevier B.V.|location=Amsterdam, the Netherlands|isbn=978-0-444-56369-9|page=21|edition=Second}}</ref> The process remains economically important, as roughly 90% of all modern-day semiconductor devices use material derived from this method.<ref>{{cite news |author=Stuart Dowell |title=Scientist who laid the foundations for Silicon Valley honoured at long last |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/scientist-who-laid-the-foundations-for-silicon-valley-honoured-at-long-last-8741 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713012703/https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/scientist-who-laid-the-foundations-for-silicon-valley-honoured-at-long-last-8741 |archive-date=13 July 2023 |access-date=3 May 2023 |website=thefirstnews.com}}</ref>

The most important application may be the growth of large cylindrical [[ingot]]s, or [[boule (crystal)|boules]], of [[Monocrystalline silicon|single crystal silicon]] used in the electronics industry to make [[semiconductor device]]s like [[integrated circuit]]s. Other semiconductors, such as [[gallium arsenide]], can also be grown by this method, although lower defect densities in this case can be obtained using variants of the [[Bridgman–Stockbarger method]]. Other semiconductors such as Silicon Carbide are grown using other methods such as [[physical vapor deposition|physical vapor transport]].<ref>https://www.powerelectronicsnews.com/the-road-to-200mm-sic-production/</ref>

The method is not limited to production of metal or [[metalloid]] crystals. For example, it is used to manufacture very high-purity crystals of salts, including material with controlled isotopic composition, for use in particle physics experiments, with tight controls (part per billion measurements) on confounding metal ions and water absorbed during manufacture.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Son |first=JK |arxiv=2005.06797 |title=Growth and development of pure Li2MoO4 crystals for rare event experiment at CUP |journal=Journal of Instrumentation |date=2020-05-14 |volume=15 |issue=7 |pages=C07035 |doi=10.1088/1748-0221/15/07/C07035 |bibcode=2020JInst..15C7035S |s2cid=218630318 }}</ref>