Growth and characterization of magneto‐optical YFeO3 crystals

The floating zone growth of magneto‐optical crystal YFeO₃ has been investigated. The polycrystalline feed rod was prepared by a pressure of 250MPa and sintering at about 1500°C. A crack‐ free YFeO₃ single crystal has been successfully grown. The crystal preferred to crystallize along <100> direction with about 10° deviation. The X‐ray rocking curve of the crystal has a FWHM of 24 arcsec, confirming the high crystal quality of the sample. The (100) plane was etched by hot phosphoric acid and the dislocation density was about 10⁴/cm². A thin outer layer with Y₂O₃‐rich composition was found at the periphery of as‐grown crystals, which was attributed to the Fe₂O₃ evaporation during growth. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Observation of individual dislocations in 6H and 4H SiC by means of back‐reflection methods of X‐ray diffraction topography

SiC crystals of high structural perfection were investigated with several methods of X‐ray diffraction topography in Bragg‐case geometry. The methods included section and projection synchrotron white beam topography and monochromatic beam topography. The investigated 6H and 4H samples contained in large regions dislocations of density not exceeding 10³ cm^‐2. Most of them cannot be interpreted as hollow core dislocations (micro‐ or nano‐pipes). The concentration of the latter was lower than 10² cm^‐2. The present investigation confirmed the possibility of revealing dislocations with all used methods. The quality of presently obtained Bragg‐case multi‐crystal and section images of dislocation enabled analysis based on comparison with numerically simulated images. The analysis confirmed the domination of screw‐type dislocations in the investigated crystals. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Evolution of real structure in Ge‐Si mosaic crystals

The structure and properties of Czochralski (Cz)‐grown Ge_1‐xSi_x mosaic crystals were investigated using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X‐ray diffraction analysis, microprobe analysis, FTIR and transmission electron microscopy. The role of segregation, form of solid‐liquid interface and dislocation generation in the development of mosaic structure were analyzed and used for optimization of growth parameters such as Si concentration and growth rate. The dislocation density estimated experimentally was compared with the calculated data. Composition fluctuations caused by formation of cellular structure at the interface lead to a local lattice misorientation that is one of the reasons for crystal mosaicity. Model of mosaic structure generation in terms of dislocation density and composition variations is presented.     

Growth and magneto‐optical characteristics of cerium‐doped terbium gallium garnet by the floating zone method

Cerium‐doped terbium gallium garnet single crystal having a large Verdet constant was grown by floating zone (FZ) method, which was suitable for the use in optical devices. The lattice parameters and the X‐ray rocking curve measurement of the crystal was determined by X‐ray diffraction analysis. The Verdet constant of the crystal (B = 0.55 T) at the wavelength of 632.8 nm was −165.8 rad m⁻¹ T⁻¹ at room temperature, 23.7% larger than that of pure TGG (−134.0 rad m⁻¹ T⁻¹). The performance of the high optical quality and excellent magneto‐optical properties of the crystal shows the great potential of using this new method to meet the increasing demand of VI‐NIR Faraday rotators.     

Spectral studies of methyl‐p‐hydroxy benzoate: An organic nonlinear optical crystalline material

The single crystals of Methyl‐p‐Hydroxy Benzoate (MHB) were grown by solution growth technique and characterized by X‐ray diffraction (single crystal), density, melting point, UV‐Vis, FT‐IR and FT‐Raman techniques. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectra of Cu²⁺: MHB were recorded and the spin Hamiltonian parameters were evaluated. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth,etching morphology and spectra of LiAlO2 crystal

γ‐LiAlO₂ single crystal was successfully grown by Czochralski method. The crystal quality was characterized by X‐ray rocking curve and chemical etching. The effects of air‐annealing and vapor transport equilibration (VTE) on the crystal quality, etch pits and absorption spectra of LiAlO₂ were also investigated in detail. The results show that the as‐grown crystal has very high quality with the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 17.7‐22.6 arcsec. Dislocation density in the middle part of the crystal is as low as about 3.0×10³ cm^–2. The VTE‐treated slice has larger FWHM value, etch pits density and absorption coefficient as compared with those of untreated and air‐annealed slices, which indicates that the crystal quality became inferior after VTE treatment. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Flux growth of straw‐like rutile monocrystals

Millimetric straw‐like rutile monocrystals were grown by the flux growth technique. A suitable mixture of flux (MoO₃, V₂O₅, Li₂CO₃) and amorphous TiO₂ gel was slowly cooled down to 750°C from 1250°C or 1350°C. The best yields of straw‐like rutile were obtained with a nutrient/flux ratio and a cooling rate in the range 0.015‐0.006 and 1.8‐1.9 K h^‐1, respectively. The hollowed crystals were characterized by powder and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, microthermometry, and µ‐Raman spectroscopy. As for skeletal crystal, the formation of axial canals in rutile is attributed to a lack of nutrient due to the viscosity of the melt and the high growth rate along [001]. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

*Ir4+ ion‐free 12CaO·7Al2O3 single crystal grown by the CZ method

Ir⁴⁺ ion‐free 12CaO•7Al₂O₃ (C12A7) single crystals that were colorless and transparent have been grown by the CZ method under 0.5% oxygen‐containing nitrogen atmospheres for the first time. Powder X‐ray diffraction patterns and X‐ray single‐crystal diffraction were used to investigate the microstructure and quality of the C12A7 single crystal. The results show that the crystal was a C12A7 single crystal with tetragonal symmetry. The content of Ir⁴⁺ in the C12A7 single crystal was tested by ICP along with visible‐light transmittance. There was no Ir⁴⁺ in the C12A7 crystal grown in a 0.5% oxygen‐containing nitrogen atmosphere. Contents of Ir⁴⁺ in C12A7 crystal grown under 1% and 2% oxygen‐containing nitrogen atmospheres were 500 ppm and 400 ppm, respectively. The microstructure of C12A7 single crystal was determined by the content of oxygen in the growth process: the occurrence of bubbles and color increase when the content of oxygen is increased. Bubbles and color decrease when the oxygen content is lowered, bubbles disappeared and the color of C12A7 turns into transparent when the content of oxygen is 0.5%, the C12A7 phase decomposed when the content of oxygen was lower than 0.5%. So, the content of oxygen was responsible for the bubbles, color and cracking, and these also can be limited by controlling the content of oxygen.     

Preparation,single crystal growth and characterization of bis(tetrabutylammonium)bis(4,5‐dithiolato‐1,3‐dithiole‐2‐thione)copper

The preparation and single crystal growth of bis(tetrabutylammonium)bis(4,5‐dithiolato‐1,3‐dithiole‐2‐thione)copper, (I), are described. The energy gap Eg of (I) is about 2.38 eV. The nonlinear optical susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ is about 1.3×10^‐3 esu at 1064 nm. The characterization of (I) has been performed by electronic absorption, infrared and X‐ray powder diffraction spectroscopy. The thermal behavior of (I) has been investigated by means of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) measurements in air. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Preparation,physicochemical and third order nonlinear optical properties of bis(tetrabutylammonium)bis(2‐thioxo‐1,3‐dithiole‐4,5‐dithiolato)mercurate(II)

Bis(tetrabutylammonium)bis(2‐thioxo‐1,3‐dithiole‐4,5‐dithiolato)mercurate(II) was prepared and characterized by elemental analyses, electronic absorption, infrared and X‐ray powder diffraction spectroscopy. The specific heat of the crystal was measured to be 1878.2 J.mol^–1K^–1 at 300 K. The thermal decomposition process was investigated by means of thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis measurements in air together with infrared and X‐ray powder diffraction spectra. The third‐order nonlinear optical properties at 800 nm were measured by femtosecond optical Kerr gate technique by using CS₂ as reference. The third‐order optical susceptibility of its acetone solution at the concentration of 9.27 × 10^–4 M was obtained to be 2.53 × 10^–14 esu. The second‐order hyperpolarizability was estimated to be 1.7 × 10^–32 esu and the response time was about 226 fs. The third order nonlinear optical properties at 532 nm were investigated by using the Z‐scan technique with 20 ps. It exhibited self‐focusing effect and saturable absorption. The second molecular hyperpolarizability was estimated to be 8.4 × 10^–32 esu. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth and characterization of L‐prolinium tartrate – A new organic NLO material

Single crystals of L‐Prolinium tartrate (C₅H₁₀NO₂)⁺ (C₄H₅O₆)^‐, a new organic non‐linear optical material of size: 15 × 10 × 10 mm³ were grown using submerged seed solution growth method. Characterization of the crystals was made using single crystal X‐ray diffraction and density determination. Spectroscopic, thermal, optical and mechanical studies were carried out. These studies show that the crystals are thermally stable upto 161°C, transparent for the fundamental and second harmonic generation of Nd: YAG (λ = 1064 nm) laser and possess good mechanical strength. Second harmonic generation (SHG) conversion efficiency was investigated to explore the NLO characteristics of this material using Kurtz and Perry method and it was found that the SHG conversion efficiency is about 90% of that of the standard KDP crystals. Laser damage threshold study was also carried out. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Characterization of a Czochralski grown silicon crystal doped with 1020 cm‐3 germanium

A dislocation‐free silicon single crystal doped with 10²⁰ cm^‐3 germanium (Ge) has been grown using the Czochralski (CZ) growth technique. The Ge concentration in the seed‐end and tang‐end of the crystal was 8×10¹⁹cm^‐3and 1.6×10²⁰ cm^‐3, respectively. The effective segregation coefficient of Ge, the distribution of flow pattern defects (FPDs) and the wafer warpage have been characterized. Both the effective segregation coefficient and the equilibrium segregation coefficient of Ge in silicon were evaluated. Then, the density of FPDs was traced from seed‐end to tang‐end of the ingot, a suppression of FPDs by Ge doping was shown. That is probably because the Ge atoms consume free vacancies and thus a higher density of smaller voids is formed. Furthermore, the mechanical strength of wafers has also been characterized by batch warpage analysis. The warpage in the seed‐end was larger than that in the tang‐end of the ingot, showing that the mechanical strength of wafers is enhanced by Ge doping. Such improvement is interpreted by an enhanced dislocation pinning effect associated with the enhanced nucleation of grown‐in oxygen precipitates in the Ge‐doped silicon wafers. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Flux growth and characterization of Ti‐ and Ni‐doped forsterite single crystals

Forsterite monocrystals doped with Ti and Ni were grown by the flux growth technique. A suitable mixture of flux (MoO₃, V₂O₅, Li₂CO₃) and nutrient was slowly cooled down to 750 °C from 1250 °C or 1350 °C. The crystals were then characterized by powder and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Variations observed in crystal size were attributed by both the varying experimental conditions in which they had been obtained, and to the amount of Ni substituted for Mg in the structure. High abundances of doped forsterite required a cooling rate of 1.8 K h^‐1. These synthetic, well‐characterized Ti and Ni doped forsterite crystals may have potential for exploitation in industrial fields. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth and characterization of ferroelectric‐ferroelastic Tb2(MoO4)3 crystals

Transparent and nearly colorless ferroelectric‐ferroelastic β′‐Tb₂(MoO₄)₃ (TMO) single crystals have been grown by the Czochralski (CZ) method. The single crystal structure was investigated by X‐ray powder diffraction and was shown to be a single phase with the structure similar as the β′‐Gd₂(MoO₄)₃ crystal. The optical transparency of the TMO crystal has been measured and the crystal is almost transparent in the visible and near infrared regions. The defects of TMO crystal were evaluated by etching technique and the ferroelectric domain structures were observed by an optical microscope. A high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that the as‐grown TMO crystal possesses relatively high optical quality. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth imperfections in oriented grown KDP crystals by X‐ray topographic analysis

Potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals were restrained to grow in two dimensions only, using a specially designed platform. This enables us to grow the blanks of frequency conversion elements that satisfy type‐II phase matching direction out of a type‐II phase‐matched seed crystal. Synchrotron radiation topography was used to study the growth mechanism of these profiling grown KDP crystals. It is found that both dislocation growth mechanism and layer growth mechanism were involved in the growing process. Inclusions, growth striations and dislocations were the main defects that influenced the crystalline quality of these crystals. High‐resolution X‐ray diffraction was employed to study the lattice integrality of the crystal.     

Crystal structure of N‐[(1Z)‐1‐(3‐methyl‐3‐phenylcyclobutyl)‐2‐thiomorpholin‐4‐ylethylidene] thiourea

The crystal structure of N‐[(1Z)‐1‐(3‐methyl‐3‐phenylcyclobutyl)‐2‐thiomorpholin‐4‐ylethylidene] thiourea (C₁₈H₂₆N₄S₂) has been determined by X‐ray crystallographic techniques. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca, with unit cell parameters: a = 15.692(3), b = 20.803(8), c = 11.979(6)Å, Z = 8, V = 3911(7)ų. The crystal structure was solved by direct methods and refined by full‐matrix least squares to a final R‐value of 0.084 for 1447 observed reflections [I > 2σ ( I ) ]. In the thiosemicarbazide moiety, the S = C bond length is 1.656(6), N‐C‐N angle is 115.6(5)°. The crystal structure is stabilized by the intermolecular N‐H...S hydrogen bonds. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Crystal and Molecular Structure of 11,12‐dibromo‐ 7,8—benzo‐1,5‐di(p—tolylsulphonyl)‐1,5‐diazacyclononan

The crystal structure of the title compound, C₂₅H₂₆Br₂N₂O₄S₂ was determined by single crystal X‐ray diffraction technique. The crystals are monoclinic, space group C 2/c, with a=20.7142(2) Å b=11.7910(2) Å, c= 10.6735(3) Å, β=98.549(2)°, V=2577.94(9) ų, Z=4. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined by least‐squares methods to a final R=0.046 for 1866 observed reflections with I>2sigma(I). The title compound, displays disordered geometry around the C1 atom located almost on twofold axis. The nine‐membered heterocylic ring is close to the half‐chair conformation. The dihedral angle between phenyl rings is 34.2(1)°.     

Photoacoustic studies on the thermal properties of the NLO compound: L‐alaninium maleate

Studies on thermal and optical properties are very essential for a nonlinear optical material. Photoacoustics (PA) is a recently developed non‐destructive testing (NDT) tool for studying such properties. L‐Alaninium maleate (C₃H₈NO₂⁺·C₄H₃O₄^‐), an organic non‐linear optical (NLO) material was synthesized using submerged seed solution method and was characterized by single crystal X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and density. PA technique was used to determine the thermal parameters of LAM crystals. Moreover, possible phase transition analysis was conducted to ascertain the thermal stability. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies were also carried out and crystal‐packing features discussed. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Synthesis,crystal structure and third order nonlinear optical properties of bis(tetra‐n‐propylammonium) bis(2‐thioxo‐1,3‐dithiole‐4,5‐dithiolato)cuprate(II)

A novel bis (dmit) complex of copper (II), [(C₃H₇)₄N]₂[Cu(dmit)₂] ( 1 ), where dmit is 2‐thioxo‐1,3‐dithiole‐4,5‐dithiolate, was prepared and structurally characterized by X‐ray single crystal diffraction. The copper (II) atom is tetracoordinated by four dmit S atoms, forming a nearly square planar arrangement. The [Cu(dmit)₂]^2‐ anions and the [(C₃H₇)₄N]⁺ counter‐cations form a three‐dimensional solid‐state structure by C–H…S hydrogen bonds. The third‐order nonlinear optical properties of the complex were determined by picosecond Z‐scan technique at a wavelength of 1064 nm. The results indicate the compound exhibits reverse saturation absorption and self‐defocusing performance. The molecular second‐order hyperpolarizability γ is calculated to be as high as (1.8±0.2)×10^‐30 esu. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A hexagonal columnar packing structure of C7 symmetric supramolecules: a superstructure of a 2:3 complex of heptakis‐(6‐O‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin and ethyl acetate

The recrystallization of Heptakis[6‐O‐tert ‐butyldimethylsilyl)]‐β ‐cyclodextrin ( 1 ) from ethyl acetate gave single crystals of 1 ₂·(ethyl acetate)₃ complex. The superstructure of 1₂·(ethyl acetate)₃ complex was investigated by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, molecular modeling, and single crystal/powder X‐ray diffractions. Encapsulation of ethyl acetate molecules with 1 and a unique hexagonal columnar superstructure in its crystal were found. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)