Morphological study of Czochralski-grown lanthanide orthovanadate single crystals and implications on the mechanism of bulk spiral formation

Large-sized monoclinic LaVO₄ crystals have been successfully obtained in the Czochralski method by employing proper seeds to suppress the severe bulk spiral growth. A triggering mechanism has also been proposed to account for the influence of seeds on the bulk spiral formation, a problem that is becoming increasingly urgent in growing low-symmetry oxide crystals.