Growth by the heat exchanger method of NaBiW2O8 and Na5B2P3O13 crystals

H. Rahab (1) , D. Ouadjaout (1) , A. Manseri (1) , Jean-Pierre Chaminade (2) , Oudomsack Viraphong (2)

1 UDTS - Unité de Développement de la Technologie du Silicium
2 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux

In this paper, we present the results of our attempt to grow NaBiW2O8 (NBW) and Na5B2P3O13 (NBP) crystals by the heat exchanger method (HEM). This method is slightly different from the Bridgman technique: the crucible is kept fixed in the setup and the center of the crucible bottom is cooled by a variable helium gas flow. It allows very good control of the growth rate and minimizes parasitic crystallization at the crucible walls. First experiments for growing these two materials by the HEM technique have shown very promising results with single-crystal sizes of few cubic centimetres..

Mots clés: Growth from melt; HEM; Phosphates; Tungstates; Non-linear optics materials; Scintillator materials

Domaines: Matériaux; Chimie inorganique

H. Rahab, D. Ouadjaout, A. Manseri, Jean-Pierre Chaminade, Oudomsack Viraphong. Growth by the heat exchanger method of NaBiW2O8 and Na5B2P3O13 crystals. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2007, 303 (2), pp.629-631. ⟨10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2006.12.059⟩. ⟨hal-00144341⟩