Patent ID: 8790460

Claim:
A method for manufacturing crystalline bodies and devices from crystalline bodies using a seed crystal, a molten crystalline material and a fluid, the method comprising: providing a support for accommodating the seed on an end thereof, the support being movable along a translation axis in a pull direction; raising the support in the pull direction from a position in which the seed is at least partially immersed in the molten crystalline material, thereby drawing the seed crystal from the molten crystalline to initiate growth of a crystalline body; positioning one or more nozzles relative to the crystalline body, wherein the crystalline body includes a molten portion and a solid portion; heating the fluid to approximately the melting point of the crystalline material; and forcing the fluid upon a surface of the growing crystalline body to expand the crystalline body in length, including discharging the fluid through the one or more nozzles to the surface of the crystalline body such that the fluid discharged from the one or more nozzles impinges upon the molten portion, and wherein the heating occurs prior to forcing the fluid upon the surface of the growing crystalline body.