Y2O3-Al2O3-Nd2O3 phase diagram and the growth of (Y,Nd)3 Al5O12 single crystals

The optimum compositions of the melts used for the growth of yttrium-aluminum garnet (YAG) single crystals with different neodymium contents are determined using the phase diagram of the ternary system Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃-Nd₂O₃ with the binary sections Y₃Al₅O₁₂-Nd₂O₃ and Y₃Al₅O₁₂-Nd₃Al₅O₁₂. A number of melt compositions characterized by one garnet phase, namely, (Y,Nd)₃Al₅O₁₂, are established. Single crystals of yttrium-aluminum garnets with a high content of the activator (up to 2.6 wt % Nd) are grown by the Czochralski method. __________ Translated from Kristallografiya, Vol. 48, No. 5, 2003, pp. 945–949. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2003 by Soboleva, Chirkin. Dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of the Russian Academy of Sciences