A new optical medium—Cd0.75Sr0.25F2 single crystals

For the first time, single crystals of the Cd_0.75Sr_0.25F₂ solid solution with the fluorite structure are grown from melt by the Bridgman-Stockbarger method. The composition of these single crystals corresponds to the composition congruently melting at the minimum point on the phase diagram. The maximum diameter of the crystal is 50 mm; the maximum height is 30 mm. The vickers microhardness of the semitransparent crystals equals 191 ± 43 kg/mm². The transmission cutoff in the IR range is ～10 μm.