  We report on the crystal growth of the quasi one-dimensional quantum spin
chain compound SrCuO$_{2}$ and its doped variants containing magnetic cobalt
(0.25%, 0.5%, 1% and 2.5%) and non-magnetic zinc (0.5\% and 1\%) impurities.
Crystals are grown using the travelling solvent floating zone (TSFZ) method in
a four-mirror optical furnace. Some crucial factors, key to the stability of a
TSFZ process, including the choice of solvent composition and its associated
melting behavior, are discussed in detail. The grown crystals were
characterized using x-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy,
optical microscopy, neutron single crystal diffraction and magnetic
susceptibility measurements. Co-doping induces magnetic anisotropy and a
corresponding change of magnetic behavior characterized by the presence of a
sharp peak in the magnetic susceptibility at low-temperatures (T = 5 K), which
is not seen for the pristine compound. The peak position is shown to scale
linearly with Co-concentration for low doping levels upto 2.5%.
