Top-seeded solution growth and characterization of a Bi2Mo2.66W0.34O12 single crystal

Single crystals of Bi2Mo2.66W0.34O12 with dimensions up to 70 mm x 55 mm x 45 mm were successfully grown using a top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method with a MoO3-WO3 mixture as a flux. The material crystallizes in centrosymmetric space group P2(1)/c (no. 14), with unit cell parameters of a = 7.7212(8)angstrom, b = 11.4938(12)angstrom, c = 11.9970(12) angstrom, and beta = 115.5070(10)degrees. The as-grown crystals exhibit {100}, {010}, {011}, {110}, {021}, {012}, {120}, {-111}, {-102}, and {1-1-2} facets, which are in good agreement with the predicted growth morphology based on the Bravais-Friedel and Donnay-Harker (BFDH) method. Highresolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) measurement on the (040)-faced plate shows that the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the rocking curve is 54 ", which indicates high crystal quality. Our measurements show that it melts congruently and exhibits a wide transmission range from 475 nm to 5200 nm. It is worth noting that Bi2Mo2.66W0.34O12 has a large birefringence (Delta n = 0.24 at 480 nm), indicating that the crystal can be a promising polarizing optical material.