Crystal growth of solid solutions based on the YAl3(BO3)4, NdAl3(BO3)4 and GdAl3(BO3)4 borates

Single crystals of NdxY1-xAl3(BO3)(4) (NYAB) and GdxY1-xAl3(BO3)(4) (GYAB) have been grown from fluxed melts based on the potassium trimolybdate by both the TSSG method and spontaneous crystallization. Neodymium and gadolinium are practically uniformly distributed over the entire volume of crystals. The effective segregation coefficients of neodymium and gadolinium were found to be 0.3-0.8 and about 1 for NYAB and GYAB, respectively. In the case of NYAB, this coefficient increases with an increase in crystallization temperature and a decrease in the crystal growth rate. Growth striations are developed on the trigonal prism faces of the NYAB and GYAB crystals enriched by NAB and GAB which tend to form the monoclinic structures. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.