Investigations of single crystal growth of PbMoO4

The synthesis of polycrystalline PbMoO4 material suitable for use as the starting charge for crystal growth was investigated employing a solid-state sintering method. The solidification behavior of the material was studied by the differential thermal analysis (DTA) technique, with an aim to model the growth by the Czochralski technique. Actual crystal growth runs were carried out to validate the modeling and identify conditions that yield good quality crystals. The results show that large changes in melt stoichiometry, which may arise due to the application of an improperly synthesized starting charge, drive growth from the initial melt growth regime to a self-flux assisted growth regime. The application of a properly synthesized starting charge and the growth direction are found to play a crucial role in determining the quality of the grown crystal.