Growth, Properties, and Theoretical Analysis of M2LiVO4 (M = Rb, Cs) Crystals: Two Potential Mid-Infrared Nonlinear Optical Materials

β-CsHg2I5, a compound with rare [Hg2I5] dimers and large optical anisotropy

Hg-based compounds show abundant structural diversity and distinguished properties. Herein, a new phase transition compound CsHg2I5 was reported. The high-temperature phase β-CsHg2I5 with rare [Hg2I5] dimers was synthesized by the flux method at 573 K, and it shows a reversible phase transition at a low temperature of ∼100 K to form the low-temperature phase α-CsHg2I5. The two phases crystallize in the same P21/c space group, with different crystal structures. β-CsHg2I5 is composed of rare [Hg2I5] dimers and [CsI11] polyhedral units, while α-CsHg2I5 is composed of [Hg4I11] and [CsI10] units. The experimental band gap of β-CsHg2I5 was found to be 2.58 eV. Owing to the presence of [Hg2I5]∞ pseudo-layers, β-CsHg2I5 exhibits large optical anisotropy with a calculated birefringence of 0.132@1064 nm. Meanwhile, β-CsHg2I5 is a congruent compound and the congruent point is ∼481 K. Theoretical calculations indicate that the rare [Hg2I5] dimer is a nonlinear active unit, which can be used as a new fundamental building block for the design of advanced nonlinear optical materials. Moreover, a CsI-HgI2 pseudo-binary diagram was drawn. The results enrich the structural diversity of Hg-based halides and give some insights into the development of new functional materials based on rare [Hg2I5] dimers.

Cd2 Nb2 Te4 O15 : A Novel Pseudo-Aurivillius-Type Tellurite with Unprecedented Nonlinear Optical Properties and Excellent Stability

Oxides are emerging candidates for mid-infrared (mid-IR) nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. However, their intrinsically weak second harmonic generation (SHG) effects hinder their further development. A major design challenge is to increase the nonlinear coefficient while maintaining the broad mid-IR transmission and high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the oxides. In this study, it is reported on a polar NLO tellurite, Cd2 Nb2 Te4 O15 (CNTO), featuring a pseudo-Aurivillius-type perovskite layered structure composed of three types of NLO active groups, including CdO6 octahedra, NbO6 octahedra, and TeO4 seesaws. The uniform orientation of the distorted units induces a giant SHG response that is ≈31 times larger than that of KH2 PO4 , the largest value among all reported metal tellurites. Additionally, CNTO exhibits a large band gap (3.75 eV), a wide optical transparency window (0.33-14.5 µm), superior birefringence (0.12@ 546 nm), high LIDT (23 × AgGaS2 ), and strong acid and alkali resistance, indicating its potential as a promising mid-IR NLO material.

Pb5(GeO4)(Ge2O7) and Pb3.32Ca1.68(GeO4)(Ge2O7): Two Nonlinear Optical Germanates Induced by Diverse PbOx Polyhedra

Oxide nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals have drawn wide interest for their comprehensive physical performances including wide infrared (IR) transparency ranges, large band gaps, and good stability in open air. Here, two isostructural germanate oxides, Pb₅(GeO₄)(Ge₂O₇) (1) and Pb_3.32Ca_1.68(GeO₄)(Ge₂O₇) (2), adopting the noncentrosymmetric (NCS) space group P6̅, were composed via a conventional solid-state reaction. The latter was designed by the partial cation substitution strategy based on parent 1. The whole structures of 1 and 2 are composed of isolated distorted GeO₄ tetrahedra, Ge₂O₇ dimers, and diverse M (M = Pb, Ca, or Pb/Ca)-centered polyhedra. They exhibit second-harmonic generation (SHG) responses around 3.3 and 1.4 times that of KH₂PO₄ (KDP) under 1.064 μm laser radiation, respectively. Theoretical calculation results reveal that the Pb²⁺ cations with stereo-active long pair (SCALP) electrons of 1 favor the large SHG response, while Pb-based polyhedra showing inert SCALP electrons make predominant contributions to the moderate SHG effect of 2.

Unprecedented mid-infrared nonlinear optical materials achieved by crystal structure engineering, a case study of (KX)P2S6 (X = Sb, Bi, Ba)

Three acentric type-I phase-matchable infrared nonlinear optical materials KSbP2S6, KBiP2S6, and K2BaP2S6, showing excellent balance between the second harmonic generation coefficient, bandgap, and laser damage threshold, were synthesized via a high-temperature solid-state method. KSbP2S6 is isostructural to KBiP2S6, which both crystallize in the β-KSbP2Se6 structure type. K2BaP2S6 was discovered for the first time, which crystallizes in a new structure type. KSbP2S6 and KBiP2S6 exhibit close structural similarity to the parent compound, centrosymmetric Ba2P2S6. The [P2S6] motifs, isotypic to ethane, exist in Ba2P2S6, KSbP2S6, KBiP2S6, and K2BaP2S6. The mixed cations, K/Sb pair, K/Bi pair, and K/Ba pair, play a dual-role of aligning the [P2S6] structure motifs, contributing to a high SHG coefficient, as well as enlarging the bandgap. KSbP2S6, KBiP2S6, and K2BaP2S6 are direct bandgap semiconductors with a bandgap of 2.9(1) eV, 2.3(1) eV and 4.1(1) eV, respectively. KSbP2S6, KBiP2S6, and K2BaP2S6 exhibit a high second harmonic response of 2.2× AgGaS2, 1.8× AgGaS2, and 2.1× AgGaS2, respectively, coupled with a high laser damage threshold of 3× AgGaS2, 3× AgGaS2, and 8× AgGaS2, respectively. The DFT calculations also confirm that the large SHG coefficient mainly originates from [P2S6] anionic motifs.

Rational Design of a Promising Oxychalcogenide Infrared Nonlinear Optical Crystal

Oxychalcogenides with the performance-advantages of both chalcogenides and oxides are emerging materials class for infrared (IR) nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals that can expand the wavelength of the solid-state laser to...

Ca3(TeO3)2(MO4) (M = Mo, W): Mid-Infrared Nonlinear Optical Tellurates with Ultrawide Transparency Ranges and Superhigh Laser-Induced mage ThreDasholds

Intense interests in mid-infrared (MIR) nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals have erupted in recent years due to the development of optoelectronic applications ranging from remote monitoring to molecular spectroscopy. Here, two polar crystals Ca₃(TeO₃)₂(MO₄) (M = Mo, W) were grown from TeO₂-MO₃ flux by high-temperature solution methods. Ca₃(TeO₃)₂(MoO₄) and Ca₃(TeO₃)₂(WO₄) are isostructural, which feature novel structures consisting of asymmetric MO₄ tetrahedra and TeO₃ trigonal pyramids. Optical characterizations show that both crystals display ultrawide transparency ranges (279 nm to 5.78 μm and 290 nm to 5.62 μm), especially high optical transmittance over 80% in the important atmospheric transparent window of 3-5 μm, and superhigh laser damage thresholds (1.63 GW/cm² and 1.50 GW/cm²), 54.3 and 50 times larger than that of state-of-the-art MIR NLO AgGaS₂, respectively. Notably, they exhibit the widest band gaps and the loftiest laser-induced threshold damages among the reported tellurates so far. Moreover, Ca₃(TeO₃)₂(MO₄) exhibit type I phase matching at two working wavelengths owing to their large birefringence and strong second-harmonic generation responses from the distorted anions, as further elucidated by the first-principles calculations. The above characteristics indicate that Ca₃(TeO₃)₂(MO₄) crystals are high-performance MIR NLO materials, especially applying in high-power MIR laser operations.

A Congruent-Melting Mid-Infrared Nonlinear Optical Vanadate Exhibiting Strong Second-Harmonic Generation

Study of mid-infrared (mid-IR) nonlinear optical (NLO) materials is hindered by the competing requirements of optimized second-harmonic generation (SHG) coefficient d_ij and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) as well as the harsh synthetic conditions. Herein, we report facile hydrothermal synthesis of a polar NLO vanadate Cs₄ V₈ O₂₂ (CVO) featuring a quasi-rigid honeycomb-layered structure with [VO₄ ] and [VO₅ ] polyhedra aligned parallel. CVO possesses a wide IR-transparent window, high LIDT, and congruent-melting behavior. It has very strong phase-matchable SHG intensities in metal vanadate family (12.0 × KDP @ 1064 nm and 2.2 × AGS @ 2100 nm). First-principles calculations suggest that the exceptional SHG responses of CVO largely originate from virtual electronic transitions within [V₄ O₁₁ ]_∞ layer; the excellent optical transmittance of CVO arises from the special characteristics of vibrational phonons resulting from the layered structure.

A review on the recently developed promising infrared nonlinear optical materials

The synthesis, characterization and performance of the new developed promising IR NLO materials with outstanding performances and good crystal growth habits are summarized and analyzed.

Bi32Cd3P10O76: a new congruently melting nonlinear optical crystal with a large SHG response and a wide transparent region

Large size single crystal Bi₃₂Cd₃P₁₀O₇₆ with a large SHG response (4 × KDP) and a wide transmission range covering 0.36–4.9 μm.

Optimized growth and anisotropic properties of Li2ZrTeO6 nonlinear optical crystals

Centimeter-sized and high-quality Li2ZrTeO6 crystals were grown by a modified top-seed solution growth method. The excellent thermal properties indicate that Li2ZrTeO6 is an excellent candidate suitable for high-power nonlinear optical applications.

Rb4 Li2 TiOGe4 O12 : A Titanyl Nonlinear Optical Material with the Widest Transparency Range

Practical mid-infrared (MIR) coherent light beams generated by frequency conversion in nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals are indispensable in time-resolved infrared vibrational spectroscopy, remote light detection and ranging, and free-space communications. Herein, a new titanyl germanate Rb₄ Li₂ TiOGe₄ O₁₂ (RLTG) MIR NLO crystal was obtained by heavier element substitution. It features a complicated structure network composed of compressed TiO₅ square pyramids and distorted GeO₄ tetrahedra, separated by Rb⁺ and Li⁺ cations. More importantly, RLTG exhibits concurrently short ultraviolet (0.28 μm) and long IR (5.58 μm) transmittance cutoffs, fully covering the atmospheric transparent window of 3-5 μm. Related to the short UV cutoff, it shows a higher laser-induced damage threshold in comparison to commercial MIR NLO crystals, about twice that of KTiOPO₄ (KTP) and 50 times that of AgGaS₂ (AGS).