Abstract
Phase diagrams are useful tools for the design and improvement of crystal growth processes, especially if these processes are performed close to equilibrium conditions. This is usually the case for growth from the melt, but in addition, many processes involving gas phase transport can be understood in terms of equilibrium phase diagrams. This chapter cannot replace a textbook on thermodynamics, but repeats the definitions of some basic terms such as component, phase, and some thermodynamic potentials. Most phase diagrams are plotted as two-dimensional (2D) graphs in suitable coordinates. Then several areas represent the stability fields of specific phases or phase mixtures. These phase fields are separated by lines, which are phase boundaries where transitions from one state to another take place. The purpose of this chapter is not so much to focus on the construction of phase diagrams, but more to introduce some basic diagram types that are useful for crystal growth; this chapter offers hints about which qualitative and quantitative information can be obtained from diagrams that are found in the literature.
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