Forming thin liquid phase epitaxial layers

A method of growing thin epitaxial layers of gallium arsenide (GaAs) material from a gallium arsenide melt which comprises:

• heating to a first temperature a graphite boat having a plurality of reservoirs that contain a melt including at least gallium arsenide and silicon that are dissolved in melted gallium, having a plurality of movable graphite sliders, having a plurality of fixed graphite plates, and having a plurality of recesses that have a depth wherein a first portion of the recesses are in each slider and a second portion of the recesses are in each plate and each recess contains a gallium arsenide wafer that has a thickness;
• covering each wafer with the melt by pushing each slider into the melt wherein the melt that is covering each wafer has a thin first section that is within each recess and a second section outside each recess;
• removing the second section of the melt that is covering each wafer by returning the second section of the melt back to the plurality of reservoirs while leaving the thin first section covering each wafer;
• and
• growing an epitaxial layer on each wafer by cooling the graphite boat at a rate of approximately 0.5 to 5.0 degrees Celsius per minute until reaching an unloading temperature thereby crystallizing a portion of the thin first section onto each wafer.