Single crystal growth and electronic structure of Rh-doped Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_(7)

Ruddlesden-Popper iridate Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_(7)is a spin-orbit coupled Mott insulator.Hole doped Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_(7)provides an ideal platform to study the exotic quantum phenomena that occur near the metal-insulator transition(MIT)region.Rh substitution of Ir is an effective method to induce hole doping into Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_(7).However,the highest doping level reported in Sr_(3)(Ir_(1-x)Rh_(x))_(2)O_(7)single crystals was only around 3%,which is far from the MIT region.In this paper,we report the successful growth of single crystals of Sr3(Ir_(1-x)Rh_(x))_(2)O_(7)with a doping level of~9%.The samples have been fully characterized,demonstrating the high quality of the single crystals.Transport measurements have been carried out,confirming the tendency of MIT in these samples.The electronic structure has also been examined by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy(ARPES)measurements.Our results establish a platform to investigate the heavily hole doped Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_(7) compound,which also provide new insights into the MIT with hole doping in this material system.

Polymorphism of D-mannitol:Crystal structure and the crystal growth mechanism

The polymorphism of D-Mannitol(mannitol) is reviewed in this paper. It was found that the structure of the stable form is consistent in most literatures, but different authors have given different information about the two metastable forms. Therefore the commonly used nomenclature of mannitol was summarized based on the crystal unit cell parameters with the help of X-ray powder diffraction. Moreover, the crystal growth mechanism of mannitol polymorphs was summarized. Considering the lack of kinetic data for the metastable form especially, a reported method was attempted to apply to δ mannitol in an aqueous cooling crystallization process based on the induction time previously measured, and it was identified that the growth of the δ form follows the two-dimensional(2D) nucleationmediated mechanism. The results also indicate that the method based on induction time and supersaturation should have the potential to be expanded to the metastable polymorphs for the growth property study in a bulk system.

Bulk single crystal growth of SiGe by PMCZ method

A new type of magnetic device was used to replace the conventionalelectro-magnetic field for CZSi (doped with Ge) growth. The device was composed of three permanentmagnetic rings and called PMCZ device. The lines of magnetic force are horizontally distributed atradial 360℃. Using the ring permanent magnetic field, thermal convection in melt and centrifugalpumping flows due to crystal rotation could be strongly suppressed so that the fluctuations oftemperature and micro-growth rate at solid/liquid interface could be restrained effectively. In thePMCZ condition, the growing environment of SiGe bulk single crystal was similar to the crystalgrowth in space under the condition of micro-gravity. The motion of impurities (Ge, oxygen, etc.)had been controlled by diffusion near the solid/liquid interface. Oxygen concentration became lowerand the distribution of composition became more homogeneous along longitudinal direction and acrossa radial section in the grown SiGe crystal. The mechanism of PMCZ superior to MCZ was alsodiscussed.

FEM simulations and experimental studies of the temperature field in a large diamond crystal growth cell

We investigate the temperature field variation in the growth region of a diamond crystal in a sealed cell during the whole process of crystal growth by using the temperature gradient method （TGM） at high pressure and high temperature （HPHT）. We employ both the finite element method （FEM） and in situ experiments. Simulation results show that the temperature in the center area of the growth cell continues to decrease during the process of large diamond crystal growth. These results are in good agreement with our experimental data, which demonstrates that the finite element model can successfully predict the temperature field variations in the growth cell. The FEM simulation will be useful to grow larger high-quality diamond crystal by using the TGM. Furthermore, this method will be helpful in designing better cells and improving the growth process of gem-quality diamond crystal.

Luminescence Properties and Crystal Growth of Er/Yb Codoped KGd(WO_4)_2

In this paper, the spectral and luminescence properties of a series of KGd（WO4）2 powder samples codoped with different concentrations of Er^3＋ and Yb^3＋ were reported,and the best doping concentrations were found to be lat% Er^3＋ and 10at% Yb^3＋ for attaining the strongest intensity. The Er^3＋/yb^3＋ codoped KGd（WO4）2 crystal with good optical quality was grown by the TSSG method and the growth conditions were presented. The unpolarized absorption and emission spectra of the crystal have been measured. The strong absorption peak is at 980 nm with a FWHM of 65 nm, and the emission peak is at 1536 nm when pumped by 976 rim. The fluorescence lifetime of manifold ^4I13/2 is estimated to be 4.5 ms at room temperature.Investigations of Er, Yb：KGW crystal have shown it to have necessary combination of properties to get an effective generation of - 1.54 μm eye-safe radiation with laser diode pumping.

Single Crystal Growth and Physical Property Characterization of Non-centrosymmetric Superconductor PbTaSe_2

We report on the single crystal growth and superconducting properties of PbTaSe2 with the non-centrosymmetric crystal structure. By using the chemicM vapor transport technique, centimeter-size single crystals are success- fully obtained. The measurement of temperature dependence of electricaJ resistivity p（T） in both normal and superconducting states indicates a quasi-two-dimensional electronic state in contrast to that of polycrystalline samples. Specific heat C（T） measurement reveals a bulk superconductivity with Tc ≈ 3.75K and a specific heat jump ratio of 1.42. All these results are in agreement with a moderately electron-phonon coupled, type-g Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductor.

Enhanced thermoelectric properties of p-type polycrystalline SnSe by regulating the anisotropic crystal growth and Sn vacancy

Thermoelectric selenides have attracted more and more attentions recently.Herein,p-type Sn Se polycrystalline bulk materials with good thermoelectric properties are presented.By using the SnSe2 nanostructures synthesized via a wetchemistry route as the precursor,polycrystalline Sn Se bulk materials were successfully obtained by a combined heattreating process under reducing atmosphere and following spark plasma sintering procedure.As a reference,the Sn Se nanostructures synthesized via a wet-chemistry route were also fabricated into polycrystalline bulk materials through the same process.The thermoelectric properties of the Sn Se polycrystalline transformed from SnSe2 nanostructures indicate that the increasing of heattreating temperature could effectively decrease the electrical resistivity,whereas the decrease in Seebeck coefficient is nearly invisible.As a result,the maximum power factor is enhanced from 5.06×10^-4W/m·K^2 to 8.08×10^-4W/m·K^2 at 612℃.On the other hand,the reference sample,which was obtained by using Sn Se nanostructures as the precursor,displays very poor power factor of only 1.30×10^-4W/m·K^2 at 537℃.The x-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscope（SEM）,x-ray fluorescence（XRF）,and Hall effect characterizations suggest that the anisotropic crystal growth and existing Sn vacancy might be responsible for the enhanced electrical transport in the polycrystalline Sn Se prepared by using SnSe2 precursor.On the other hand,the impact of heat-treating temperature on thermal conductivity is not obvious.Owing to the boosting of power factor,a high z T value of 1.07 at 612℃ is achieved.This study provides a new method to synthesize polycrystalline Sn Se and pave a way to improve the thermoelectric properties of polycrystalline bulk materials with similar layered structure.

Liquid State Undercoolability and Crystal Growth Kinetics of Ternary Ni-Cu-Sn Alloys

The liquid state undercoolability and crystal growth kinetics of ternary Ni-5%Cu-5%Sn and Ni-10%Cu-10%Sn alloys are investigated by the glass fluxing method. In these two alloys, experimental maximum undercoolings of 304 K （0.18TL ） and 286K （0.17TL ） are achieved and the dendritic growth velocities attain 39.8 and 25.1 m/s, respectively. The transition of morphology from coarse dendrite into equiaxed structure occurs and the grain size of the a （Ni） phase decreases remarkably when the undercooling increases. Both the lattice constant and microhardness increase obviously with the enhancement of undercooling. The enrichment of Cu and Sn solute contents reduces the dendritic growth velocity, while enhances the lattice constant and microhardness of a （Ni） phase.

The effect of far field flow on a spherical crystal growth in the undercooled melt

The effect of convective flow on a spherical crystal growth in the undercooled melt with a moderate far field flow is studied. The asymptotic solution of the evolution of the interface of the spherical crystal growth is obtained by the matched asymptotic expansion method. The analytic result shows that the convective flow in the undercooled melt has a strong effect on the evolution of spherical crystal growth. The convective flow induced by the far field flow makes the interface of the growing spherical crystal enhance its growth velocity in the upstream direction of the far field flow and inhibit growth in the downstream direction, and the interface of the decaying spherical crystal further decay in the upstream direction and inhibit decay in the downstream direction. The maximum growth velocity of the interface of the spherical crystal influenced by the far field flow is obtained.

Optimization of heat shield for single silicon crystal growth by using numerical simulation

In integrated circuit-grade single silicon Czochralski growth, the position and material of heat shield are main parameters affecting the heat exchange and crystal growth condition. By optimizing the above parameters, we attempted to increase the growth rate and crystal quality. Numerical simulation proved to verify the results before and after optimization. Through analyses of the temperature and microdefect distribution, it is found that the optimized heat shield can further increase the pulling rate and decrease the melt/crystal interface deflection, increase the average velocity of argon flow from ~2 to ~5 m&middots-1, which is in favor of the transportation of SiO, and obtain the low defects concentration crystal and that the average temperature along the melt-free surface is 8 °C higher than before avoiding supercooled melt effectively. © The Nonferrous Metals Society of China and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.

Effect of 6H-SiC crystal growth shapes on thermo-elastic stress in the growing crystal

The effect of 6H-SiC crystal growth shapes on the thermo-elastic stress distribution in the growing crystal was systematically in- vestigated by using a finite element method. The thermo-elastic stress distribution in the crystal with a flat growth shape was more homoge- neous than that in the crystals with concave and convex growth shapes, and the value of thermo-elasticity in the crystal with a fiat growth shape was also smaller than that in the two other types of crystals. The maximum values of thermo-elastic stress appeared at interfaces be- tween the crystal and the graphite lid. If the lid was of the same properties as 6H-SiC, the thermo-elastic stress would decrease in two orders of magnitude. Thus, to grow 6H-SiC single crystals of high quality, a transition layer of SiC formed by deposition or reaction is suggested; meanwhile the thermal field in the growth chamber should be adjusted to maintain the crystals with fiat growth shapes.

Crystal Growth Kinetics of Nanocrystalline ZnS under Surface Adsorption

The crystal growth mechanism, kinetics, and microstructure development play a fundamental role in tailoring the materials with controllable size and morphology. In this study, by introducing the strong surface adsorption of the concentrated NaOH, two-stage crystal growth kinetics of ZnS nanoparficles was observed. In the first stage, the primary particles grow into a size over a hundred times of the original volume and the growth is controlled by the crystallographically specific oriented attachment. The first stage data were fitted by the ＂multistep OA kinetic model＂ built based on the molecular collision and reaction. In the second stage, following the dispersal of nanoparficles, an abrupt transition from asymptotic to parabola growth kinetics occurs, which can be fitted by a standard Ostwald ripening volume diffusion model. The presence of surface adsorption causes the two-stage growth kinetics and permits an almost exclusive OA-based growth to dominate in the first stage.

Structure and Crystal Growth of Li_2Zn_2(MoO_4)_3

Single crystal of Li2Zn2（MoO4）3 has been grown from a flux of Li2MoO4 by the top-seeded solution-growth method, and its stnicture was refined by the Rietveld method. It belongs to the orthorhombic system, space group Pnma with a = 5.1114, b = 10.4906 and c = 17.6172A. Good agreement between the experimental and calculated profile （Rp = 6.69%, Rwp = 9.73% and Rexp = 6.58%） was reached.

INFLUENCE OF EXTERNAL MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE FLOW FIELD IN MOLTEN SEMICONDUCTOR OF CZOCHRALSKI CRYSTAL GROWTH——A NUMERICAL SIMULATION

Numerical results show that an external magnetic field may influence significantly the flow pattern in the molten semiconductor of Czochralski crystal growth. The melt flow could be pronouncedly damped by a magnet. ic field with the intensity of several thousands Gauss, while the temperature field is affected only in a less extent by the magnetic field.

Methodology of Single Crystal Growth and Microstructure Analysis of CoTi(Zr) Intermetallic Compounds

The effects of preparation and crystal growth methods on the microstructure, composition, and oxidation of CoTi（Zr） intermetallics were dealt with . A group of methods has been used to produce CoTi and CoTi（Zr） crystals to prevent the formation of titanium oxide particles during melting and crystal growth. The results show that more oxides formed when using powdered starting materials even though the metals handled were and melted under an inert gas atmosphere; using bulk starting materials produced alloys showed less oxidation than powders, but adding a small amount of AI to getter the oxygen was not sufficient to prevent TiO2 formation. However, using a slightly reducing atmosphere during initial melting was highly effective in reducing the formation of oxide. Crystal growth carried out in Ar did not reduce the amount of oxide but only redistributed the particles. TiO2 particles were found only in the grain boundaries after crystal growing, where they obstructed grain growth. Crystal growth in a vacuum was found to be essential in producing oxide free crystals. A seed selection technique was developed and used in growing CoTi single crystals. The microstructures of the samples were determined using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, including the morphologies, grain sizes, oxide distributions and crystal structure confirmation.

Crystal Growth and Nucleation in Glasses in the Lithium Silicate System

The crystal growth and nucleation in glasses in the lithium silicate system have been investigated. Phase separation in ultimately homogenized glasses of the lithium silicate system xLi2O·(100 ﹣ x)SiO2 (where x = 23.4, 26.0, 29.1, and 33.5 mol% Li2O) has been studied. The glasses of these compositions have been homogenized using the previously established special temperature-time conditions, which make it possible to provide a maximum dehydration and removal of bubbles from the glass melt. The parameters of nucleation and growth of phase separated in homogeneities and homogeneous crystal nucleation have been determined. The absolute values of the stationary nucleation rates Ist of lithium disilicate crystals in the 23.4Li2O·76.6SiO2, 26Li2O·74SiO2 and 29.1Li2O·70.9SiO2 glasses with the compositions lying in the metastable phase separation region have been compared with the corresponding rates Ist for the glass of the stoichiometric lithium disilicate composition 33.51Li2O·66.5SiO2. It has been found that the crystal growth rate has a tendency toward a monotonic increase with an increase in the temperature, whereas the dependences of the crystal growth rate on the time of low temperature heat treatment exhibit an oscillatory behavior with a monotonic decrease in the absolute value of oscillations. The character of crystallization in glasses with the compositions lying in the phase separation region of the Li2O-SiO2 system is compared with that in the glass of the stoichiometric lithium disilicate composition. The conclusion has been made that the phase separation weakly affects the nucleation parameters of the lithium disilicate and has a strong effect on the crystal growth.

Study on Characteristics of Crystal Growth of NdFeB Cast Alloys

The characteristic of crystal growth of NdFeB cast alloys was studied. It is found that the crystal growth orientation of conventional ingots is along <410> or <411>. As the cooling rate increases, the crystallization orientation changes from a axis to c axis, along which the grain is easy to be magnetized. Meanwhile, by analyzing the change of crystallization orientation, the influence on the property of magnets was discussed.

A MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION OF CRYSTAL GROWTH RATE DURING CRYSTALLIZATION OF AMORPHOUS ALLOYS

A mathematical expression of the crystal growth rate during crystallization of the amorphous alloys was derived from the micromechanism of crystallization newly developed by the authors. Thus, the satisfactory explanation of the experimental results obtained by Nunogaki et al., Heimendahl et al. and the authors might be found. It seems also to be modelled with the expression for the crystal growth and the crystal size influenced by time during the crystallization of amorphous Ni-P alloy foil at in situ heating. Based on the expression, the factors influencing the crystal growth rate, such as temperature, time and microstructure of amorphous alloys have been discussed.

Microstructure and crystal growth direction of Al-Mg alloy

The microstructures and crystal growth directions of permanent mould casting and directionally solidified Al-Mg alloys with different Mg contents have been investigated. The results indicate that the effect of Mg content on microstructure is basically same for the alloys prepared by these two methods. The primary grains change from cellular crystals to developed columnar dendrites, and then to equiaxed dendrites as the Mg content is increased. Simultaneously, both the cellular or columnar grain region and the primary trunk spacing decrease. All of these changes are mainly attributed to the constitutional supercooling resulting from Mg element. Comparatively, the cellular or columnar crystals of the directionally solidified alloys are straighter and more parallel than those of the permanent mould casting alloys. These have straight or wavy grain boundaries, one of the most important microstructure characteristics of feathery grains. However, the transverse microstructure and growth direction reveal that they do not belong to feathery grains. The Mg seemingly can affect the crystal growth direction, but does not result in the formation of feathery grains under the conditions employed in the study.