Wolff, N.; Schwaigert, T.; Siche, D.; Schlom, D.; Klimm, D.: Growth of CuFeO2 single crystals by the optical floating-zone technique. Journal of Crystal Growth 532 (2020), p. 125426/1-5
10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2019.125426
Open Access Version (externer Anbieter)
Abstract:
CuFeO2 single crystals up to 50 mm in length and up to 10 mm in diameter were grown by the optical floating-zone method. Stoichiometric polycrystalline rods with a diameter of 6–12 mm were used as feed materials to produce crystals of sufficient size to be used as substrates for the growth of thin films of delafossites. For stable growth along the c-axis, low growth rates of 0.4 mm/h are necessary. Due to the incongruent melting behavior of CuFeO2, a stable melt zone requires adjustment of the lamp power during growth. The melting of CuFeO2 is not simply incongruent because the thermodynamic equilibrium includes more than two solid phases and the melt; the gas phase is also involved. The crystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence measurements.