Bridgman growth of langasite‐type piezoelectric crystals

Three langasite family crystals of Sr₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ (SGG), Ca₃NbGa₃Si₂O₁₄ (CNGS), and Sr₃NbGa₃Si₂O₁₄ (SNGS) were successfully grown by the modified Bridgman method. Among them, SGG crystals up to 2 inches were obtained with the multi‐crucible industrial Bridgman furnace; SNGS crystal grown in any orientation direction other than along a‐axis was realized. Commercially availability SGG boules and the advantage in SNGS crystal indicated that the modified Bridgman technique is a prospective method to realize the mass‐production of the langasite‐type crystals. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)