Growth, structure and optical properties of a nonlinear optical crystal α-LaBMoO6

Abstract

An α-LaBMoO₆ crystal with dimensions of ϕ 20 × 30 mm³ has been successfully grown by a modified Czochralski method. The grown crystal belongs to the low temperature phase and crystallizes in the monoclinic system with space group P2₁. Its crystal structure features a three-dimensional network composed of one-dimensional LaO₇, BO₂ and MoO₄ chains along the b-axis interconnected via corner- and edge-sharing. Corner-sharing BO₃ triangles are linked together forming novel zigzag chains along the b-axis. It is found that the α-LaBMoO₆ crystal has a SHG effect which is 1.8 times as large as that of KDP crystal. α-LaBMoO₆ crystal exhibits high transparency in the range of 350–1100 nm. The absorption edge of the crystal in the UV range is at 340 nm. Therefore, the α-LaBMoO₆ crystal could be considered as a potential nonlinear optical crystal and self-frequency doubling laser crystal material.