Bridgman growth of bismuth tellurite crystals

The photorefractive crystal, Bi2TeO5, was grown by the modified Bridgman method for the first time. High purity Bi2O3 and TeO2 were used as starting materials and were mixed thoroughly with molar ratio of Bi2O3/TeO2 = 1 ∶ 1. Platinum crucible was fabricated with a seed well of 10 mm in diameter and several folds were pressed so that the spontaneous nuclei could be eliminated through competition. The crucible was sealed during the growth so that the evaporation of TeO2 was controlled effectively. By optimizing growth parameters, transparent and crack-free Bi2TeO5 crystal up to 25 mm in diameter and 40 mm in length was grown successfully.