The crystal growth group from Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden succeeded recently in the synthesis of barium-substituted strontium ruthernates using a ScIDre high-pressure floating zone furnace HKZ.

High quality single crystals of Ba-substituted ruthenate Sr_2-xBa_xRuO₄, the "large volume variant" of the unconventional superconductor Sr₂RuO₄, were grown at the Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden for x-values up to 0.4. The heavy evaporation of RuO₂ during the growth procedure could be handled by  Ru-excess y in the feed rod which acts as self-flux and gas pressures up to 150 bar using a mixture of argon and O₂ with a ratio of 9:1 with a flowing rate of 1 l/min.