Single crystal
Single crystal silicon is used in the fabrication of semiconductors and photovoltaics is the greatest use of single crystal technology today. In photovoltaics, the most efficient crystal structure will yield the highest light-to-electricity conversion. On the quantum scale that microprocessors operate on, the presence of grain boundaries would have a significant impact on the functionality of field effect transistors by altering local electrical properties. Therefore, microprocessor fabricators have invested heavily in facilities to produce large single crystals of silicon. The Czochralski method and floating zone are popular methods for the growth of Silicon crystals.