A major research effort concerns the crystal growth - centimeter size - of multi-functional inorganic materials. A Physics Today article (Aug. 2007, Vol. 60, pp. 26-28) and a recent National Academy of Sciences Report http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12640.html stated clearly that the United States is in danger of becoming a second- or even third-class citizen when it comes to the growth and availability of single crystals of advanced materials. It is not uncommon for material scientists and physicists to go overseas, i.e. hat in hand, to acquire samples for their research. Polycrystalline samples are often available, but these samples have their drawbacks. The crystal structure may not be determined accurately, grain boundaries may impact the physical property measurements, and impurities could be in the sample. With high quality single crystals, these problems are eliminated. Simply put, advanced characterization of single crystals provides a greater depth in understanding materials properties. It is this understanding that is a required step in elucidating structure-property relationships and ultimately providing an avenue for rational materials design. All of this, however, is predicated on the growth of high quality large single crystals.

We use a variety of methods to grow large crystals. These include

Top-seeded solution growth (TSSG)       Bridgman techniques

 

Floating Zone Method

Inside FZ Furnace and FZ Furnace Monitor

Czochralski and Top-seeded solution growth furnaces in the Halasyamani laboratory:

Short movie of crystal growth in action:

Photos of crystals recently grown in the Halasyamani lab

Ba₃(ZnB₅O₁₀)PO₄ - BZBP

Na₂TeW₂O₉

LiFeP₂O₇

K₃V₅O₁₄

BaTeMo₂O₉

Bi₂ZnB₂O₇

KTiOPO₄ - KTP

Zn₂TeMoO₇ - ZTM

Recent Publications

• Zhang, W. and Halasyamani, P.S., Crystal Growth and Optical Properties of a UV Nonlinear Optical Material KSrCO₃F, CrystEngComm, In Press, 2017.
• Wu, H., Yu, H., Zhang, W., Cantwell, J., Poeppelmeier, K.R., Pan, S., and Halasyamani, P.S., Crystal Growth, Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of KIO₃ . Te(OH)₆, Cryst. Growth Des., DOI:10.1021/acs.cgd.7b00704, 2017
• Wu, H., Yu, H., Zhang, W., Cantwell, J., Poeppelmeier, K.R., Pan, S., and Halasyamani, P.S., Top-Seeded Solution Crystal Growth, Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Ba₄B₁₁O₂₀F (BBOF), Cryst. Growth Des., 17, 1404-1410, 2017.
• Zhang, W., Yu, H., Cantwell, J., Wu, H., Poeppelmeier, K.R., and Halasyamani, P.S., LiNa₅Mo₉O₃₀: Crystal Growth, Linear and Non-linear Optical Properties, 28, 4483-4491, 2016.
• Yu, H., Cantwell, J., Wu, H., Zhang, W., Poeppelmeier, K.R., and Halasyamani, P.S., Top-Seeded Solution Crystal Growth, Morphology, Optical and Thermal Properties of Ba₃(ZnB₅O₁₀)PO₄ (BZBP), Cryst. Growth Des., 16, 3976-3982, 2016.
• Yu, H., Zhang, W., and Halasyamani, P.S., Large Birefringent Materials: Na₆Te₄W₆O₂₉ and Na₂TeW₂O₉ - Synthesis, structure, crystal growth, and characterization, Cryst. Growth Des., 16, 1081-1087, 2016.
• Zhang, W. and Halasyamani, P.S., Top-seeded solution crystal growth of Noncentrosymmetric and Polar Zn₂TeMoO₇ (ZTM), J. Solid State Chem., 236, 32-38, 2016.
• Pachoud, E., Zhang, W., Tapp, J., Liang, K.-C., Lorenz, B., Chu, C.W., and Halasyamani, P.S., Single Crystal Growth, Structure, and Physical Properties of LiCrP₂O₇, Cryst. Growth Des., 13, 5473-5480, 2013.
• Zhang, W. and Halasyamani, P.S., Top-seeded solution crystal growth of Noncentrosymmetric and Polar K₃V₅O₁₄, CrystEngComm., 14, 6839-6842, 2012.
• Zhang, W. and Halasyamani, P.S. Top-Seeded Solution Crystal Growth and Functional Properties of Polar LiFeP₂O₇, Crystal Growth and Design, 12, 2127-2132, 2012.
• Zhang, W., Halasyamani, P.S., Gao, Z., Wang, S., Jian, W., and Tao, X., Anisotropic Thermal Properties of the Nonlinear Optical and Polar Oxide Material Na₂TeW₂O₉, Crystal Growth and Design, 11, 3636–3641, 2011.