Growth and spectra studies of nonlinear optical manganese zinc hydrogen phosphate (MnZnHPO4) single crystals

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 35; no. 28; p. 1845
• Main Authors: Krishnamoorthi, P., Sundaramoorthi, P., Ramachandran, K., Manikandababu, C. S., BoopathiRaja, R., Alam, Mir Waqas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Crystal growth; Crystal lattices; Energy absorption; Energy gap; Fourier transforms; Gelatin; Hydrogen; KDP crystals; Lattice parameters; Magnesium; Manganese; Materials Science; Nonlinear optics; Optical and Electronic Materials; Photoelectric effect; Potassium phosphates; Second harmonic generation; Single crystals; Zinc
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-024-13624-y

High-quality single crystals of magnesium zinc hydrogen phosphate (MgZnHPO 4 ) with diameters of up to 8 × 2 × 2 mm 3 have been successfully grown using sodium meta silicate gelatin. The crystal’s classification has been confirmed as orthorhombic, belonging to the Pnma space group, using single crystal X-ray diffraction investigations. Moreover, the calculated lattice parameters and volume were a  = 10.491 Å, b  = 18.152 Å, c  = 5.043 Å, Z  = 4, respectively. Fourier transform infrared results suggest that the intense peak observed at 1110 cm −1 is ascribed to the stretches mode of the P–O bond and the planar bent shape of the (PO4) 3 − ion. Scanning electron microscope images show that both the crystals having needle shaped platelets like surface morphology. The energy absorption gap is a straight band gap with a magnitude of 3.72 eV. The crystal’s high band gap clearly indicates its exceptional transparency. The crystal’s activation energy had been determined to be 0.34 eV at a frequency of 1 kHz. Moreover, the AC conductivity and photocurrent measurement was carried out for grown crystal. The second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of MgZnHPO 4 was determined to be 28.9 millivolts (mV), which is 2.7 times higher than that of a potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) single crystal (10.71 mV). It is very clear that this crystal has potential and prospects for frequency conversion applications.