Abstract: Semiconductor crystalline materials, e.g. silicon, GaAs, are grown from a melt, e.g. using the Czochralski technique where a seed crystal is dipped into the melt then slowly withdrawn. Rotation of the growing crystal (6) is partly responsible for convective flows within the melt (5). Convective flows are reduced while radial uniformity is improved by subjecting the crystal/melt interface to a shaped magnetic field. This magnetic field is rotationally symmetrical about the axis of crystal rotation, with a component of field parallel to this axis that is less than 500 gauss, preferably less than 200 gauss, with a value above 500 gauss at other parts of the melt. The field may be produced by two superconducting magnet coils (21, 22) spaced apart and arranged co-axially with the axis of crystal rotation.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of producing silicon with about 100% substitutionality of very high concentrations of carbon up to about 10.sup.21 cm.sup.-3, which has good quality recrystallized layers containing low levels of residual damage, and which avoids precipitation of mobile carbon. This method, compatible with current state-of-the-art VLSI silicon technology, comprises the sequential steps of: implanting a silicon wafer with carbon ions, and two step annealing of the implanted silicon wafer.

Abstract: An electroluminescent silicon device comprises a light emitting diode (10). The diode (10) includes a p.sup.+ semiconductor contact (42) and a n.sup.- layer (32), forming a p-n junction (43) therebetween. The n.sup.- layer (32) is carbon-doped and irradiated with an electron beam having electrons with energies of between 150 and 400 keV to form G-centres. The diode (10) is electroluminescent when forward biassed, radiative recombination occuring at the G-centres. The invention reconciles the conflicting requirements of creating luminescent defect centres by irradiation while avoiding damage to electronic properties. The device may be an integrated light emitting diode (200) incorporated in a CMOS microcircuit. Photon output from the diode (200) may be relayed to other parts of a CMOS microcircuit by an integrated waveguide (224).