Perfection of quartz and its connection to crystal growth.
01 January 1988
The perfection of cultured quartz and its connection to growth processes is reviewed. The principal macroscopic imperfection, "crevice flawing", is shown to be the hydrothermal crystal growth analogue of dendritic growth, and can be eliminated by the proper choice of growth direction and manipulation of conditions to minimize the effects of diffusion. Acoustic loss (1/Q) is proportional to the infra-red absorption at the OH stretch frequency and is most likely due to small (a few hundred molecule) aggregates of H sub 2 O although lesser quantities of OH which charge compensate Al sup (+3) and Fe sup (+3) at Si sup (+4) sites are also present. Techniques for preparing cultured quartz with Q equivalent to the best natural quartz are now routine.