Design and fabrication of eight zone vertical dynamic gradient freeze system for organic single crystal growth

Design and construction of the vertical dynamic gradient freeze (VDGF) system operating in the temperature range from 50 °C to 500 °C for growing organic single crystals are described. The design of VDGF system consists of furnace, control system, translation assembly, and image capturing device. Furnace has been constructed with eight zones controlled independently by a dynamic temperature control system for achieving desired thermal environment and multiple temperature gradients, which are essential for the growth of organic single crystals. The transparent furnace enables direct observation to record and monitor the solid-liquid interface and growth of crystals through charge coupled device based video camera. The system is fully computerized hence it is possible to retrieve the complete growth and furnace history. In order to investigate the functioning of the constructed VDGF system for the growth of organic single crystals, a well known organic nonlinear optical single crystal of benzimidazole was grown. The crystalline quality and the optical transmittance of the grown crystal were studied.