Bell Telephone Laboratories

Paul Michael Bridenbaugh

Paul Foo-Hung Liao

Heinz Paul Weber

Bruce Cedric Tofield

Acicula of rare earth pentaphosphates, of a diameter and length ideal for waveguiding laser-type applications, are grown by controlling the rate of metaphosphoric acid conversion by introducing water vapor into an inert gas atmosphere continuously flowed through the reaction zone. The required amount of water vapor in the reaction zone has to be within the range between approximately 14 grams per cubic meter and 290 grams per cubic meter of the flowing atmosphere. This control is implemented by bubbling the inert gas atmosphere through a water bath at temperatures between 15.degree. and 80.degree. C. It is believed that the control of the water vapor eliminates problems of supersaturation in the forming of pentaphosphoric crystals in the growth solution and thereby promotes their natural tendency to form purely chainlike polymer structures.

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Whitehouse Station, NJ, United States of America

Paul Michael Bridenbaugh