Top-seeded solution growth and morphology change of RbTiOPO4:Ta single crystal

Abstract

The RbTiOPO4:Ta single crystal with dimensions of 4 mm × 31 mm × 18 mm was successfully grown by Top Seeded Solution Growth Technique. It is concluded that the doping Ta element can strongly influence the growth and morphology of the RbTiOPO4 crystal. The evident morphology change of RbTiOPO4:Ta crystal with respect to RbTiOPO4 crystal has been observed and the (1 0 0) crystal face was more developed than any other crystal faces. The possible reasons of the morphology change were analyzed through experimental and theoretical methods. Several methods were tried to increase crystallographic a direction dimension of RbTiOPO4:Ta crystals. Finally, the RbTiOPO4:Ta single crystal with crystallographic a direction dimension up to 6 mm was obtained by using thicker seed crystal. This way makes it possible to get isometric RbTiOPO4:Ta crystals, which is beneficial for nonlinear optical applications due to larger area in x-y plane.