Crystal Growth Facility

Crystal Growth Facility

Within the School of Basic Sciences, the Institute of Physics (iPHYS) has set up a Facility for Crystal Growth. The facility is a complex of chemistry labs, furnace rooms, sample preparation labs and a laboratory for material characterization.  The facility aims to synthesize crystalline materials from nanostructures to macroscopic crystals. A key aspect of the facility’s mission is Materials Discovery, be it in polycrystalline or single crystal form. Several techniques are available for the synthesis of such materials: solvothermal treatment and Chemical Vapour Deposition are used for the synthesis of carbon and inorganic nanostructures and graphene materials. Chemical Vapour Transport, Flux method, floating zone furnace and Bridgman furnace are used to grow inorganic as well as organic single crystals. The team of the crystal growth facility works in collaboration with numerous research groups within EPFL, Switzerland, Europe and abroad.

The activities of the crystal growth facility are funded by iPHYS, by collaborating laboratories and through participation in national and international projects.