The growth of insulating crystals

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Abstract
The growth of insulating crystals, i.e. crystals primarily of interest for their dielectric, magnetic, mechanical and optical properties, is reviewed. After a brief survey of the uses of crystals and the early work on their growth, attention is turned to the mechanisms of crystal growth. The thermodynamic, kinetic and mass transport processes are discussed in terms of their effects on growth rate, impurity incorporation and interface stability. The effects of heat transport and solute-induced strain on crystal perfection are described. In the section on practical techniques attention is concentrated on the widely used methods, i.e. those originated by Verneuil, Czochralski, Kyropoulos and Bridgman, the techniques of growth from solutions at high and low temperatures and hydrothermal growth. The problems of method selection and optimization are reviewed.