Morphology of Y 3Fe 5O 12 single crystals grown from high temperature solution

Abstract

Single crystals of YIG were grown from high temperature solutions by the slow cooling method and by the temperature gradient transport method. The morphological change of YIG depending on flux composition, cooling rate, growth temperature and rotation speed was investigated. In highly viscous flux composition, even at a lower cooling rate, the {211} faces developed dominantly, but in a less viscous flux composition, even at a relatively fast cooling rate, the {110} faces were dominant. At a higher growth temperature and rotation speed, the {110} faces were dominantly developed. Relative growth rates of the {211} faces against the {110} faces were calculated from the geometrical relation of the two faces. The morphological change caused by the relative growth rates was investigated through repeated systematic growth experiments. The correlation between the relative growth rate and the growth conditions, i.e., the cooling rate and the flux composition, was derived from the extrapolation of the experimental plotting. The relative growth rate at a point was estimated to be independent of flux composition at a fixed cooling rate.