Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol.504, 26-30, 2018
Flux growth of beta-NaGaO2 single crystals
The flux growth of ternary wurtzite beta-NaGaO2 single crystals by slow cooling from 1300 degrees C using 20B(2)O(3)-80PbO as a flux was investigated. The beta-NaGaO2 single crystals were successfully obtained from a starting solution of 0.075 mol of Na2CO3 and 0.0375 mol of Ga2O3 in 0.14 mol of 20B(2)O(3)-80PbO. Unlike the flux growth of beta-LiGaO2 single crystals where the crystals exhibit preferential growth along the [0 01] direction, the obtained beta-NaGaO2 crystals did not show preferential growth along any direction. The beta-NaGaO2 single crystals were subjected to an ion exchange of the Na+ ions with Cu+ and Ag+ ions to respectively obtain beta-CuGaO2 and beta-AgGaO2, which have recently attracted attention as narrow-band-gap oxide semiconductors. However, the beta-CuGaO2 was pulverized and the beta-AgGaO2 exhibited many cracks caused by the large volume change created by the phase transformation induced during the ion exchange.