We report the synthesis and growth of large, crack-free AgGaTe2 single crystals by the horizontal Bridgman technique. The ingots were nearly stoichiometric and consisted entirely of single-phase material, with some compositional variations of the metal components. The presence of microprecipitates was observed in the fast-cooled samples. The effects of the compositional variations on band gap, absorption coefficient, melting point and electrical resistivity along the length of the ingot are reported. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.