DENDRITIC STRUCTURES ON HABIT FACES OF POTASSIUM TITANYL PHOSPHATE CRYSTALS GROWN FROM FLUX

The effect of cooling rate on the surface structure of habit faces of KTiOPO4 crystals grown from potassium phosphate flux is reported. Different dendritic structures have been observed on the habit faces, the complexity of which depended on cooling rates. Step patterns observed on (100) faces indicate that these crystals grow predominantly by two-dimensional layer growth mechanism. The study on the effect of crucible size on the surface structures reveal that, under similar growth conditions, the smaller crucibles yield better crystals with less dendritic density.