Abstract
Microvoids are well-known crystal defects, usually exhibiting a rounded and/or irregular shape, which act as undesired scattering centers in optical applications. Here, for the first time, residual microvoids in the shape of perfect regular hexagonal-prisms are observed in apparently scattering-free CeF3 bulk single crystals. These microvoids reflect exactly the natural crystal habit in “negative” form: the prisms stand along the c-axis and the hexagonal sides are parallel to the six equivalent planes perpendicular to the a-axis. They distribute randomly with sizes up to 13 µm and heights in the submicron order with a maximum around 500 nm. The microvoids are formed by the embedding of bubbles during the crystallization process. The bubbles’ gas is possibly caused by the high vapor pressure of CeF3 itself at the high melting point.
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