Bridgman growth of LaCl3:Ce3+ crystal in non-vacuum atmosphere

Growth of LaCl3:Ce3+ crystal by the vertical Bridgman process in non-vacuum atmosphere has been studied. Based on the dehydration procedure of LaCl3·7H2O and CeCl3·7H2O investigated by DTA/TG, anhydrous LaCl3 and CeCl3 were prepared by heating LaCl3·7H2O and CeCl3·7H2O at 200–230 °C for 6–7 h in dried HCl atmosphere. Using the feed materials prepared from the anhydrous lanthanon chlorides, a 4 mol% Ce3+ doped LaCl3 crystal with a size of Ø 28 mm × 70 mm was successfully grown. The crystal was grown under the optimum conditions such as a growth rate of 0.5–0.8 mm/h and a temperature gradient of around 30 °C/cm across solid–liquid interface at a furnace temperature of 940–960 °C. The Bridgman process is confirmed to be promising for growing large size LaCl3:Ce3+ crystals with high quality.