Crystal growth of oxide and fluoride materials for optical, piezoelectric and other applications

High quality oxide and fluoride single crystals for optical, piezoelectric and other applications have been grown by advanced crystal growth technique s. La3Nb0.5Ga5.5O14 and La3Ta0.5Ga5.5O14 piezoelectric single crystals of s ize and quality comparable to La3Ga5SiO14 (langasite), have been produced. The piezoelectric and device properties of the crystals were investigated. A search for new langasite-type materials was also performed. Growth condit ions of (La,Sr)(Al,Ta)O-3 and Ca8La2(PO4)(6)O-2 single crystals are discuss ed. These crystals have excellent lattice matching with GaN, a promising ma terial for optoelectronic devices. Promising optical micro-crystals-K3Li2Nb 5O15, KNbO3 and Y3Al5O12-and new structural materials, Al2O3/Y3Al5O12 eutec tic fibers, have been grown by the micro-pulling-down (mu-PD) technique. Th e advantages of the mu-PD technique have been shown. Ce-doped fluoride sing le crystals-LiCaAlF6, LiYF4 and BaLiF3-have been grown for solid state UV l aser applications. Growth results and optical characterizations are discuss ed.