A method for growing a crystalline composition, the first crystalline composition may include gallium and nitrogen. The crystalline composition may have an infrared absorption peak at about 3175 cm−1, with an absorbance per unit thickness of greater than about 0.01 cm−1. In one embodiment, the composition may have an amount of oxygen present in a concentration of less than about 3×1018 per cubic centimeter, and may be free of two-dimensional planar boundary defects in a determined volume of the first crystalline composition.