The details of the development and design of one-inch diameter Vertical Gradient Freeze furnace are presented. Cd0.9Zn0.1Te crystals were grown to validate the equipment in several crystal growth processes. Low thermal gradient and variable growth velocity were achieved along the whole crystal growth process. The ingots show good sections with few large grains, from which selected crystals demonstrate electrical resistivity of 10(8) Omega cm. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.