Growth conditions for self-nucleation and subsequent growth of bulk AlN crystals by sublimation are presented. With increasing growth temperature, the natural habit of AlN crystals changes from needle-like to prismatic and then turns to thick asymmetric platelet. The best-formed platelet crystals up to 14 x 7 x 2 mm(3) in size exhibit a number of atomically smooth surfaces. Growth morphology and crystal quality were found to be strongly influenced by the polar nature of AlN. Al-terminated faces produce mirror-like facets and transparent material of high crystalline quality, whereas development of N-terminated faces leads to opaque and defective sectors in grown crystals. It is suggested that the most successful seeded growth of AlN can be achieved along Al-terminated (0001), ((1) over bar 012) and non-polar ((1) over bar 010) faces. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.