〈111〉 oriented and twin-free single crystals of Terfenol-D grown by Czochralski method with cold crucible

The growth of twin-free single crystals of Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe2 with 〈111〉 orientation by the Czochralski method with cold crucible is reported. Various characterizations demonstrated the twin-free and single-crystalline quality of the crystals. The optimized growth parameters have been experimentally found to avoid constitutional supercooling. Decanting method was used to provide direct evidence that the unstable growth is the origin of the dendrite growth in this material and made the previous growth of 〈111〉 single crystal a failure.