The float-zone process produces purer crystals than the Czochralski method, because they are not contaminated by the crucible used in growing Czochralski crystals. In the float-zone process, a silicon rod is set atop a seed crystal and then lowered through an electromagnetic coil. The coil's magnetic field induces an electric field in the rod, heating and melting the interface between the rod and the seed. Single-crystal silicon forms at the interface, growing upward as the coils are slowly raised.

Once the single-crystal rods are produced, by either the Cz or FZ method, they must be sliced or sawn to form thin wafers. Such sawing, however, wastes as much as 20% of the valuable silicon as sawdust, known as "kerf." The resulting thin wafers are then doped to produce the necessary electric field. They are then treated with a coating to reduce reflection, and coated with electrical contacts to form functioning PV cells.