On the nature of striae in strontium barium niobate

Abstract

Strontium barium niobate crystals were grown by the Czochralski technique. These crystals were 15--20 mm in diameter and 25 to 75 mm long. Two types stride, designated as coarse and fine, were characterized. The coarse stride are optically dense and are spaced by 100 to 500 {mu}m apart; the fine striae are optically less dense and spaced 5--50 {mu}m apart. The origins of the stride are attributed to thermal fluctuations in the melt related to the control system and to rotation of the growing crystal in non-isothermal radial gradients. Analysis of the crystals would indicated that the coarse striae may contain increased concentrations of sodium.