Growth from the Melt and Properties Investigation of ScF<sub>3</sub> Single Crystals
Denis Karimov,
Irina Buchinskaya,
Natalia Arkharova,
Pavel Prosekov,
Vadim Grebenev,
Nikolay Sorokin,
Tatiana Glushkova,
Pavel Popov
Affiliations
Denis Karimov
Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Center «Crystallography and Photonics», Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskiy Prospekt 59, Moscow 119333, Russia
Irina Buchinskaya
Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Center «Crystallography and Photonics», Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskiy Prospekt 59, Moscow 119333, Russia
Natalia Arkharova
Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Center «Crystallography and Photonics», Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskiy Prospekt 59, Moscow 119333, Russia
Pavel Prosekov
Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Center «Crystallography and Photonics», Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskiy Prospekt 59, Moscow 119333, Russia
Vadim Grebenev
Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Center «Crystallography and Photonics», Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskiy Prospekt 59, Moscow 119333, Russia
Nikolay Sorokin
Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Center «Crystallography and Photonics», Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskiy Prospekt 59, Moscow 119333, Russia
Tatiana Glushkova
Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russia
Pavel Popov
Petrovsky Bryansk State University, Bezhitskaya str. 14, Bryansk 241036, Russia
ScF3 optical quality bulk crystals of the ReO3 structure type (space group P m 3 ¯ m , a = 4.01401(3) Å) have been grown from the melt by Bridgman technique, in fluorinating atmosphere for the first time. Aiming to substantially reduce vaporization losses during the growth process graphite crucibles were designed. The crystal quality, optical, mechanical, thermal and electrophysical properties were studied. Novel ScF3 crystals refer to the low-refractive-index (nD = 1.400(1)) optical materials with high transparency in the visible and IR spectral region up to 8.7 µm. The Vickers hardness of ScF3 (HV ~ 2.6 GPa) is substantially higher than that of CaF2 and LaF3 crystals. ScF3 crystals possess unique high thermal conductivity (k = 9.6 Wm−1К−1 at 300 K) and low ionic conductivity (σ = 4 × 10−8 Scm−1 at 673 К) cause to the structural defects in the fluorine sublattice.
