Crystal production systems and methods

The crystal production method of claim 8 wherein heating the particulate bed to at least a thermal decomposition temperature of the first gaseous chemical species comprises:

• disposing the particulate bed in a reaction vessel, the reaction vessel defining a chamber containing the heated particulate bed and an environment external to the heated particulate bed;
• heating the particulate bed to at least the thermal decomposition temperature of the first gaseous chemical species via one or more heaters thermally coupled to the particulate bed;
• and
• maintaining all points in the environment external to the particulate bed at a temperature below the thermal decomposition temperature of the first gaseous chemical species.

A crystal production system, comprising:

• a reactor housing that encloses at least one chamber;
• a pan that includes a major horizontal surface having an upper surface and a lower surface that at least partially defines a retainment volume disposed in the at least one chamber;
• a transmission that cyclically oscillates the pan at one or more defined frequencies and one or more defined displacements to produce a mechanically vibrated particulate bed in the retainment volume, the vibrated particulate bed including a plurality of coated particles, each of the plurality of coated particles including a non-volatile second chemical species deposited as a result of a thermal decomposition of a first gaseous chemical species in the mechanically vibrated particulate bed;
• a hermetically sealed second chemical species crystal production device that, in operation, causes the temperature of a first portion of the plurality of coated particles separated from the mechanically vibrated particulate bed to exceed a melting temperature of the non-volatile second chemical species to form at least one second chemical species crystal;
• and
• a hermetically sealed conveyance that couples the chamber to the second chemical species crystal production device such that, in operation, at least the first portion of the plurality of coated particles are conveyed from the mechanically vibrated particulate bed to the second chemical species crystal production device in an environment having a low oxygen level and a low contaminant level.