Many different techniques have been used in attempts to minimize defects in single crystal semiconductors. This study examines semiconductors grown in the presence of a rotating magnetic field (RMF). The RMF method is commonly used in metallurgy to stir an electrically conducting liquid during the casting process which can reduce the effects of buoyancy driven convection and enhance the mass transfer process. The variation of heat and mass transfer processes by RMF can be controlled by selecting a specific frequency and strength of the magnetic field. Both numerical modeling and space-based crystal growth experiments using RMF indicate that the application of RMF to solidification of semiconductors will dramatically minimize defects and inclusions.

A ground based program in the Microgravity Research Division at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has been studying the effects of RMF on various semiconductor compounds grown by the traveling heater method (THM).