Pr9.33(SiO4)6O2 Crystals: Czochralski Growth and Near UV-Visible FR Performance

Pr9.33(SiO4)6O2 crystals have been grown by the Cz-method for the first time for near UV–visible Faraday rotation applications. Rietveld refinement of XRD data demonstrates that the compound crystallizes in the oxyapatite structure with space group P63/m, with oxyapatite structure. In contrast to Tb3Ga5O12, Pr9.33(SiO4)6O2 crystal shows a higher transparency in the UV–visible wavelength region, and a shorter cutoff at 270 nm. The Faraday rotation performance and the temperature-dependence of the field-cooled (FC) and zero-field-cooled (ZFC) magnetic susceptibility have been investigated, which indicate that the Pr9.33(SiO4)6O2 crystal exhibits paramagnetic behavior in the experimental temperature range from 2 to 300 K and yields a larger FR angle which rapidly increases towards the cutoff. Pr9.33(SiO4)6O2 crystal is therefore a promising magneto-optical crystal in particular for potential FR applications in the near UV–visible spectral region.