A new multi-purpose furnace for the preparation of compounds, alloys and single crystals

A new modular multi-purpose furnace has been designed and the prototype constructed. This furnace was a development utilizing more than two decades of experience at the JRC establishment, Karlsruhe, to bring together the possibility of several techniques that normally require separate, expensive facilities. With this new modular device, different functions are provided by exchanging the head of the furnace while leaving the base as a permanent fixture. The processes can be carried out in high vacuum (10−6 Pa) or in the presence of high-purity gases, e.g., argon. The modules developed allow the following processes to be carried out: Arc melting, levitation melting, resistance and radio-frequency heating in a crucible, single-crystal growth by various techniques, and electron-beam heating. The rationale behind the development was to produce a device capable of many functions but at an acceptable cost so as to make the various techniques available to a wide range of research and development institutes. A full description of the apparatus is given, outlining the range of the methods which can be applied to the production of high-purity advanced materials for research purposes.