The flux lowers the melting point of the desired compound, analogous to a wet chemistry recrystallization.

Ceramic crucibles, such as alumina, zirconia, and boron nitride are used for the growth of metallic crystals.

[2] For air-sensitive growths, contents are sealed in ampoules or placed in atmosphere controlled furnaces.

Metallic fluxes aren't typically combined,[3] as they do not suffer from the same volatility, viscosity, and reactivity issues.

Practically, the flux method is done by placing the growth into a programmable furnace:[citation needed] Additional steps may be added to this basic temperature profile, such as additional dwells or different cooling rates over different points of the cool.