NOVELTY - Forming a gallium based crystal, involves: providing proto-seed containing gallium based crystal with maximum length of at least 25 mm and first thickness orthogonal to first direction of maximum length and second thickness orthogonal to first direction of maximum length, where each of first and second thickness is at least 0.3 mm; and subjecting proto-seed to ammonothermal growth of gallium based crystalline material to cause proto-seed to grow in second direction lateral to first direction of maximum length by distance of at least 5 mm to form a-wing, having c+ surface and c- surface.    USE - For forming a gallium based crystal (claimed) useful as a substrate for light emitting diode, laser diode, transistor, photodetector, solar cell, or for photochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation.    ADVANTAGE - The process minimizes strains and possible deleterious effects such as misfit dislocation generation, unstable surface morphologies, and crack formation. The process provides growth of bulk gallium nitride layers with a significant variation in impurity levels which does not lead to severe consequences, the variations are not too large, and offers significant benefits. This relative insensitivity to impurity gradients within a grown, composite gallium nitride crystal enables the crystal grower to achieve different crystallographic growth-rate ratios with different growth techniques and chemistries to grow large, high quality gallium nitride crystals.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Forming (M1) a gallium based crystal, involves: providing a proto-seed, the proto-seed comprises a gallium based crystal with a maximum length of at least 25 mm and a first thickness orthogonal to a first direction of the maximum length and a second thickness orthogonal to the first direction of the maximum length, where each of the first thickness and the second thickness is at least 0.3 mm; and subjecting the proto-seed to an ammonothermal growth of a gallium based crystalline material to cause the proto-seed to grow in a second direction lateral to the first direction of maximum length by a distance of at least 5 mm to form at least one a-wing, comprising a c+ surface and a c- surface, where each of the c+ surface and the c-surface have an area of at least 25 mm2. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are included for the following:    (1) a gallium based crystal device comprising at least four m-plane faces and two c-plane faces; where the two c-plane faces are substantial major planes in association with any of the four m-plane faces;    (2) a seed crystal device for use in electronic or optical devices, comprising: a seed crystal structure removed from a thickened gallium and nitrogen containing substrate provided from an hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) grown material; where the thickened gallium and nitrogen substrate is at least 500 microns thick; and    (3) a gallium and nitrogen crystalline structure comprising a laterally grown gallium and nitrogen containing material having a dislocation density of less than 105 cm-2 and for a major surface and a major length of greater than 12 mm, the major length associated with the major surface.