Growth of La2CaB10O19 single crystals by top-seeded solution growth technique

New nonlinear optical crystals La2CaB10O19 were grown by top-seeded solution growth technique from CaO–Li2O–B2O3 flux. The crystals were grown at a constant temperature gradient with special care taken in preparing the starting materials. The cooling rates between 0.24 and 0.5 °C/day and the rotation rate of 45 rpm are found to be suitable for growth of La2CaB10O19. The growth velocity along the positive b-axis is faster than that along the negative b-direction. The morphological faces are {0 0 1}, {1 1 0}, {11¯0}, {111¯}, and {11¯1} faces, and occasionally {1 0 0} and {1 0 1} faces occur. The morphology of the as-grown crystals mainly depends on the structure of La2CaB10O19, and it is also affected by the direction of the seed.