Piezoelectric La3Ga5.3Ta0.5Al0.2O14 crystal: growth,crystal structure perfection,piezoelectric, and acoustic properties

A five-component crystal of lanthanum–gallium silicate group La₃Ga_5.3Ta_0.5Al_0.2O₁₄ (LGTA) was grown by the Czochralski method. The LGTA crystal possesses unique thermal properties and substitution of Al for Ga in the unit cell leads to a substantial increase of electrical resistance at high temperatures. The unit cell parameters of LGTA were determined by powder diffraction. X-ray topography was used to study the crystal structure perfection: the growth banding normal to the growth axis were visualized. The independent piezoelectric constants d ₁₁ and d ₁₄ were measured by X-ray diffraction in the Bragg and Laue geometries. Excitation and propagation of surface acoustic waves were studied by the double-crystal X-ray diffraction at the BESSY II synchrotron radiation source. The analysis of the diffraction spectra of acoustically modulated crystals permitted the determination of the velocity of acoustic wave propagation and the power flow angles in different acoustic cuts of the LGTA crystal.     

Investigation of dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of b-axis grown triglycine sulphate single crystal

Large single crystal of triglycine sulphate (dimension 100 mm along monoclinic b-axis and 15 mm in diameter) was grown using the unidirectional solution growth technique. The X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the growth/long axis to be b-axis (polar axis). The dielectric studies were carried out at various temperatures to establish the phase transition temperature. The frequency response of the dielectric constant, dielectric loss and impedance of the crystal along the growth axis, was monitored. These are typically characterized by strong resonance peaks in the kHz region. The piezoelectric coefficients like stiffness constant (C), elastic coefficient (S), electromechanical coupling coefficient (k) and d ₃₁ were calculated using the resonance-antiresonance method. Polarization (P)-Electric field (E) hysteresis loops were recorded at various temperatures to find the temperature-dependent spontaneous polarization of the grown crystal. The pyroelectric coefficients were determined from the pyroelectric current measurement by the Byer and Roundy method. The ferroelectric domain patterns were recorded on (010) plane using scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy.     

Effective growth and characterization of piperazinium orthophthalate single crystal yielding high second harmonic generation efficiency

Good quality organic non-linear optical single crystal of piperazinium orthophthalate (PPA) was grown successfully by solution growth at room temperature by achieving the supersaturation state in slow evaporation method. The powder XRD analysis confirms the crystalline nature and structural parameters of the grown PPA crystal. The FTIR and Raman spectra confirm the existence of acid-base functional groups along with their vibrational mode exhibited, present in the grown PPA crystal. UV–Vis spectrum exhibits better transparency in the visible region with cut-off wavelength of 330 nm and the energy band gap (E_g) is analyzed to be 3.8 eV. Photoluminescence spectra shows good optical property with the excitation of 342 nm and two emission peaks in near edge UV band with blue emission at 364 and the energy transition in deep level defect states in crystals by exhibiting the green emission at 533 nm respectively. The thermal stability and the thermal absorption of the PPA crystal were identified by the TG - DTA analysis and obtained thermal stability was up to 88 °C. Vickers micro hardness test illustrates the mechanical stability of the grown PPA crystal and it belong to soft category (n = 4.6). Etching studies illustrates the growth pattern of the grown crystal using water as etchant. FE-SEM analysis shows the perfect smooth morphology of the grown PPA crystal. Second harmonic generation study illustrates the grown PPA crystal (λ = 532 nm) exhibit good nonlinear optical response.     

The mass transfer process and the growth rate of NaCl crystal growth by evaporation based on temporal phase evaluation

The mass transfer process and the crystal growth rate have been proved to be very important in the study of crystal growth kinetics, which influence the crystal quality and morphological stability. In this paper, a new method based on temporal phase evaluation was presented to characterize the mass transfer process in situ and determine the crystal growth rate. The crystallization process of NaCl crystal growth by evaporation was monitored in situ by a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and the absolute concentration evolution, the evaporation rate and the real-time supersaturation of solution were obtained using temporal phase analysis, which acted as a novel technique to extract phase variation along time axis recently. Based on the evaporation rate and the absolution concentration, a new method to calculate mass transfer flux during the crystal growth without the knowledge of the mass transfer coefficient was proposed, and then the crystal growth rate could also be retrieved under the hypothesis of cubic crystals. The results show that the crystal growth rate increases with the supersaturation linearly. It is in agreement with the diffusion theories, which presume that matter is deposited continuously on a crystal face at a rate proportional to the difference in concentration between the points of deposition and the bulk of solution. The method is applicable to the research of crystallization process based on evaporation or vapor diffusion of which the precise conditions of nucleation and supersaturation are usually unknown because of the complexity of the evaporation rate and crystal growth rate.     

Polarization anisotropy of single crystal opal films

Single-crystal opal films have been prepared by the moving-meniscus and gravitational sedimentation methods. It has been found using conoscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry that these photonic crystal opal films possess birefringence so that the optical indicatrix is a three-axial ellipsoid. The indicatrix axis N _g is directed along the crystal growth axis, the axis N _m lies in the film plane and is orthogonal to the axis N _g , and the axis N _p coincides with the normal to the (111) crystallographic plane, which corresponds to the triclinic system of the crystal.     

Anisotropy of magnetic properties of a twin-free EuBaCo2O5.5 single crystal

The magnetic characteristics of a twin-free EuBaCo₂O_5.5 single crystal were studied. It is shown that Co ions exhibit an Ising-type behavior with an easy axis directed along the a axis in the temperature range from 2 K to T _c (250 K). As the temperature decreases from 300 K, a number of magnetic phase transitions occur under magnetic fields H ∥ a. In the range where antiferromagnetic ordering of Co³⁺ ions exists, metamagnetic transitions were observed to occur in fields whose values were dependent on temperature. The strengths of competing interactions in the crystal are estimated.     

直拉法晶体生长过程非稳态流体热流耦合

为了改善复杂对流形态下的晶体生长品质, 提出了一种改进的格子Boltzmann方法研究非稳态熔体流动和传热的耦合性质. 该方法基于不可压缩轴对称D2Q9模型, 构建了包含旋转惯性力和热浮力等外力项的演化关系, 实现了对轴对称旋转流体的速度、温度和旋转角速度的计算与分析. 结果表明, 非稳态熔体中的流、热耦合性质与格拉斯霍夫数和雷诺数的相互作用有关; 通过调节高雷诺数, 可有效抑制熔体中的自然对流, 改善温度分布, 有助于提高单晶的品质. 数值计算结果与实际硅单晶生长试验均证明了所提方法的正确性及有效性.     

Negative refraction at various crystal interfaces

In an anisotropic positive index media the tangential components of Poynting vector S and that of wavevector k can have the opposite signs under certain conditions. The phenomenon is called as the anomalous negative refraction. The negative refraction phenomenon at planar interfaces between isotropic medium-crystal and crystal-crystal media has been analyzed. The crystals can be both uniaxial axis and biaxial axis and the azimuth of optical axis can be arbitrary. The negative refraction phenomenon under various azimuth of optical axis is analyzed. The phenomena can be very evident if the optical axis angle is arranged appropriately. The optimal conditions are obtained. For strong anisotropy crystal, the maximum incident angle that yields the negative refraction and the bending angle could be very large. For the interface of biaxial crystal the anisotropy parameter of crystal u₁ = n_z/n_x plays a dominant role in effect on negative refraction.     

Mössbauer study of the magnetic axis in RbFeF3 in the interval T2<T<TN

The antiferromagnetic axis in RbFeF₃ in the interval T₂<T<T_N has been expected to be along [111] from powder Mössbauer studies and along [001] from an X-ray diffraction study. We report our direct observation of the magnetic axis by Mössbauer spectroscopy using stressed single crystal samples. The results show that the magnetic axis is along [111].     

籽晶尺寸对宝石级金刚石单晶生长的影响

本文在国产六面顶压机上,在5.6 GPa, 1250—1450℃的高压高温条件下,分别选用边长0.8, 1.5和2.2 mm三种尺寸的籽晶,系统开展了Ib型宝石级金刚石单晶的生长研究.文中系统考察了籽晶尺寸对宝石级金刚石单晶生长的影响.首先,考察了籽晶尺寸变化对宝石级金刚石单晶裂晶问题带来的影响.研究得到了籽晶尺寸变大,裂晶出现概率增加的晶体生长规律.其次,在25 h的生长时间内,考察了上述三种尺寸籽晶生长金刚石单晶时,生长时间与单晶极限生长速度的关系.得到了选用大尺寸籽晶,可以提高优质单晶合成效率、降低合成成本的研究结论.借助扫描电子显微镜和光学显微镜,对三种尺寸籽晶生长金刚石单晶的表面形貌进行了标定.最后,傅里叶微区红外测试,对三种尺寸籽晶生长宝石级金刚石单晶的N杂质含量进行了表征.研究得到了选用大尺寸籽晶实现快速生长金刚石的同时,晶体的N杂质含量会随之升高的晶体生长规律.     

Polarization dependent guiding in liquid crystal filled photonic crystal fibers

A theoretical study of nematic liquid crystal filled photonic crystal fibers (LCPCFs) is presented. Detailed investigations including the polarization dependent bandgap formation and the modal properties are given for LCPCFs, in which alignment of the molecules could be controlled by external static electric field. The polarization dependent bandgap splitting caused by the high index difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary dielectric index of nematic liquid crystals provides the possibility of single-mode single-polarization guiding. A polarization operation diagram is proposed to describe the guiding behavior of LCPCFs. The influence of rotation angle ? of the director of liquid crystals on the modal properties is investigated. It is shown that the polarization axis of the guided mode is determined by the rotation angle ?, which could be controlled by external electric field.     

Magnetic properties of A DyNi2 single crystal

Magnetic measurements have been performed on a single crystal of DyNi₂ in applied fields up to 135 kOe. In the ferromagnetic range (T_c = 25 K), the easy magnetization direction is [100] and the hardest one is [111]. Crystal field parameters have been determined from the field and temperature dependence of the magnetization measured along the three principal axes. A two-dimensional model has been used to take into account the rotation of magnetization towards the field. The deduced parameters are W = -0.8 K and x = 0.49. The corresponding anisotropy is very large: especially even a field of 135 kOe applied along a difficult magnetization axis cannot rotate the magnetization along this direction.     

Thermally enhanced optical nonlinearity in nematic liquid crystal close to phase transition temperature

This study investigates the beam profile and the liquid crystal (LC) arrangement affected by an optical field on LC thin films at a temperature close to nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature (T_NI). A combined microscopic and conoscopic technique was used in experiments as a convenient way to analyze the optical nonlinearity that is associated with the molecular configuration of nematic liquid crystal (NLC). An optical field combined with thermal enhancement enhances molecular reorientation and causes additional molecular excitation along the axis of propagation of the beam. The reorientational nonlinearity yields an undulating structure with multi-foci; the length between each pair of foci increases with time, as described.     

相场晶体法模拟过冷熔体中的晶体生长

利用相场晶体(phase-field crystal)模型,采用有限差分法,模拟了过冷熔体中晶体生长过程,研究了不同相区、不同过冷度对晶体生长过程的影响.结果表明,在共存区中,随着演化的进行,晶体生长被抑制,液-晶边界层逐渐变厚;在单相区中,随着过冷度的增大,晶态区面积显著增加,液-晶边界层逐渐变薄.晶体生长速度和过冷度成近似线性的关系. 关键词： 相场晶体 自由能函数 过冷熔体 晶体生长     

Stationary states of crystal growth in three dimensions

A new Markov process describing crystal growth in three dimensions is introduced. States of the process are configurations of the crystal surface, which has a terrace-edge-kink structure. The states are continuous along edges but discrete across edges, in accordance with the very different rates for the two types of captures of particles. Stationary distributions, describing steady crystal growth, are found in general. To our knowledge, these are the first examples of stationary distributions for layered crystal growth in three dimensions. The steady growth rate and other quantities are obtained explicitly for two interacting edges. For many interacting edges, growth behavior is determined (a) in various asymptotic regimes including thermodynamic limits, (b) via simulations, and (c) using series (cluster) expansions in the slope of the surface, the first three coefficients being computed. The theoretical growth rates show a marked dependence on surface dimensions. This may contribute to the size dependence and dispersion in the observed growth rate of small crystals.     

Orientation dependences of the response of an electromagnetic spectrometer with oriented crystal converter

The experimental results of the study of orientation dependences of the response of a composite Cherenkov shower spectrometer with a converter made of a 1-mm tungsten crystal oriented along the 〈111〉 axis at an electron energy of 28 GeV and two converter temperatures, 293 and 77 K, are presented. The parameters of the cascade curve of the shower development are varied depending on the orientation angle and crystal temperature. It is found that there is a point S in the cascade curve of the shower development in the spectrometer, at which all cascade curves intersect at any converter orientation. The position of this point in the spectrometer depth depends on the converter temperature.     

Anomalies in the longitudinal ultrasonic attenuation and the velocity variation in the mixed state of a V3Si single crystal

In addition to sharp attenuation peaks of longitudinal sound waves propagating along the [001] axis of a V₃Si single crystal at the upper critical fields H_c2, new large attenuation and broad velocity peaks were observed in the mixed state. The new anomaly is explained by a mechanism related to the anisotropy of flux in the crystal tetragonally deformed by the band Jahn-Teller effect.     

Ultrasonic attenuation in a LiIO3 crystal

The temperature dependences of the attenuation of longitudinal acoustic waves along the x axis of a LiIO₃ crystal are studied experimentally by the method of Bragg diffraction of light by ultrasound. The measurements are performed in the temperature range from 215 to 335 K at frequencies of 400–690 MHz. Above 260 K, the attenuation is found to exhibit a frequency-independent growth of a relaxational character, which is used to calculate the enthalpy of the activation of ionic motion in the direction normal to the hexagonal axis. In addition, resonance attenuation peaks are observed; as the frequency increases, the peaks are shifted toward lower temperatures. A phenomenological model is proposed to explain the origin of the resonance absorption.     

Identification of geometrical models of interface evolution for dendritic crystal growth

This Letter introduces a method for identifying geometrical models of interface evolution, directly from experimental imaging data. These local growth models relate normal growth velocity to curvature and its derivatives estimated along the growing interface. Such models can reproduce many qualitative features of dendritic crystal growth as well as predict quantitatively its early stages of evolution. Numerical simulations and experimental crystal growth data are used to demonstrate the applicability of this approach.