Crystal Growth of Multifunctional Borates and Related Materials

<p>Borate crystals are attractive for different technological applications because of their favorable physical and chemical properties like stability and high transparency both high thermal and non-linear optical coefficients making them ideal active media for highly efficient solid state lasers. In this Special Issue different aspects of multifunctional borate crystals are discussed including ortho- and oxyorthoborates and compounds with condensed anions as well as their nonlinear optical and laser properties and piezoelectric characteristics. For this reason complex investigations of the phase relationships in multi-component borate melts the study of crystal growth conditions of novel high-temperature borates and the development of the “crystallization conditions composition structure and properties” concept will provide a scientific basis for growth technologies of high performance electronic and optical devices and components with a variety of industrial medical and many other applications. In the meantime these relationships can help to estimate the affinity of synthetic borate materials with their natural prototypes and structural analogues.</p>