M. A. Wahab

Enhancement of second harmonic generation, optical and dielectric properties in l-asparagine monohydrate single crystals due to an improvement in crystalline perfection by annealing

Single crystals of the relatively new nonlinear optical material l-asparagine monohydrate have been successfully grown by the slow evaporation solution growth technique at room temperature in aqueous solution. The crystal system of the title material has been confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction. The crystalline perfection of the as-grown and annealed crystals has been evaluated by high-resolution X-ray diffraction. The as-grown single crystals (particularly when their size is large) were found to contain internal structural grain boundaries, and the crystalline perfection of these crystals was found to be improved substantially by annealing at low temperatures. The crystalline perfection and the measured physical properties were found to be correlated such that the second harmonic generation efficiency, optical transparency, fluorescence and dielectric properties are enhanced as the crystal quality improves.

Remarkable enhancement in crystalline perfection, second harmonic generation efficiency, optical transparency, and laser damage threshold in potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals by L-threonine doping

Effect of L-threonine (LT) doping on crystalline perfection, second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency, optical transparency, and laser damage threshold (LDT) in potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals grown by slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) has been investigated. The influence of doping on growth rate and morphology of the grown crystals has also been studied. Powder x-ray diffraction data confirms the crystal structure of KDP and shows a systematic variation in intensity of diffraction peaks in correlation with morphology due to varying LT concentration. No extra phase formation was observed which is further confirmed by Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) studies. High-resolution x-ray diffraction curves indicate that crystalline perfection has been improved to a great extent at low concentrations with a maximum perfection at 1 mol % doping. At higher concentrations (5 to 10 mol %), it is slightly reduced due to excess incorporation of dopants at the interstitial sites of the crystal...

Analysis on structural, SHG efficiency, optical and mechanical properties of KDP single crystals influenced by Glycine doping

Good quality single crystals of potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (KDP) were grown with different doping concentration of Glycine by conventional solution technique in aqueous solution. X-ray diffraction study has been carried out in order to see the effect of dopant on the structural parameters of KDP. There is no additional phase was observed which was further confirmed by Raman spectroscopic analysis. The second harmonic generation efficiency was measured by using Kurtz powder technique. The relative second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of the grown crystals was found to be increased with doping concentration up to 2.5 mol%. Optical transmission study also revealed the same behaviour with enhancement up to 2.5 mol% concentration and later decreased but still higher than pure KDP. The mechanical strength was found to increase with increasing the doping concentration.

Synthesis, growth, crystal structure and characterization of a new organic material: Glycine glutaric acid

Glycine glutaric acid, a new organic compound has been synthesized and good quality single crystals were grown by slow evaporation technique. The structure of the grown crystal was elucidated by using single crystal XRD. The presence of the functional groups was confirmed by using FT-IR spectroscopy. The optical transparency was studied by using UV-vis spectrophotometer and it was found that the crystal is having high optical transparency. The thermal stability of the crystal was studied by using thermo-gravimetric and differential thermal analyses and found that it is stable up to 150°C. The room temperature dielectric studies were also carried out over the wide frequency range: 10 mHz to 10 MHz.

Structural, spectroscopic, optical, dielectric and mechanical study of pure and l-Proline doped ammonium dihydrogen phosphate single crystals.

Single crystals of pure and l-Proline (LP) C5H9NO2 doped ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) (NH4) H2PO4 were grown by slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) at ambient conditions. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis was carried out to confirm the crystal structure and no additional phase was observed due to doping except a systematic variation in peak intensities. FT-Raman analysis also confirms that there is no additional phase formation due to doping. Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis was done to examine the presence of various functional groups in the grown crystals. UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopic analysis was carried out to see the change in optical transparency of pure ADP and crystals due to LP with different doping concentrations. The high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) analysis was carried out to examine the crystalline perfection and observed reasonable changes with LP doping. Second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency measurement was done to examine the enhancement in the nonlinear optical characteristics of the grown crystals. The dielectric behavior of the samples shows that the dielectric constant decreased with increase the value of frequency. The effect of LP dopant on crystal morphology, mechanical properties of ADP has also been presented in this paper. The above studies reveal the effect of incorporation of LP into the lattice of ADP crystals.

Effect of crucible design on crystalline perfection and the enhanced optical properties of benzimidazole single crystals grown by the vertical Bridgman technique

Good quality benzimidazole (BMZ) single crystals were successfully grown by the vertical Bridgman technique (VBT). The unavoidable thermal-induced structural grain boundaries formed in the normal VBT growth of these crystals with low melting point were controlled by using a double-wall ampoule. The grown single crystals were subjected to high-resolution X-ray diffraction to assess their crystallinity. The enhancement of optical properties due to the improvement in crystalline perfection is also reported.

Structural, optical and thermal properties of Zr–Fe co-doped congruent LiNbO3 single crystals

Zr–Fe-doped congruent lithium niobate single crystals were grown by the Czochralski technique. The crystal structure and lattice parameter of the grown crystals were assessed by powder X-ray diffraction and the strain developed as a result of doping has been calculated (−1.19 × 10−3) by using the Williamson–Hall relation. The incorporated dopant concentration along with the dopant distribution in the specimen crystal was estimated by X-ray florescence spectrometry. A multi-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis was carried out to identify the crystalline perfection of the sample and revealed that the investigated crystal does not contain any structural grain boundaries but does contain point defects and micrometre size mosaic blocks. Birefringence measurements were carried out using a prism coupler spectrometer and found that the optical birefringence is 0.0822 for 532 nm and 0.705 for 1064 nm. A thermal conductivity (κ) study reveals that the doped sample has a lower κ value than the undoped equivalent.

Unidirectional crystal growth and crystalline perfection of l-arginine phosphate monohydrate

A large (∼20 mm diameter and 80 mm length) single crystal of l-arginine phosphate monohydrate (LAP) has been grown for the first time by the unidirectional Sankaranarayanan–Ramasamy method in an aqueous medium in a specially designed constant-temperature bath. The crystal structure has been confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction. The crystalline perfection was assessed by high-resolution X-ray diffractometry (HRXRD) which found that the quality of the grown single crystal is quite good. HRXRD studies along different directions show that the crystal contains a low density of edge-type dislocations formed along the growth direction. The thermal stability was assessed using thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis. The mechanical behaviour was studied using an Omnitech micro-hardness tester. The dielectric studies were carried out over a wide frequency range of 10 Hz to 5 MHz at room temperature. The characterization studies reveal that the grown bulk single crystal of LAP is suitable for device applications.

Permittivity and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Investigations of Activated Charcoal Loaded Acrylic Coating Compositions

Acrylic resin (AR) based electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composites have been prepared by incorporation of up to 30 wt% activated charcoal (AC) in AR matrix. These composites have been characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dielectric, and EMI shielding measurement techniques. XRD patterns and Raman studies confirm the incorporation of AC particles inside AR matrix and suggest possible interactions between phases. The SEM images show that incorporation of AC particles leads to systematic change in the morphology of composites especially the formation of porous structure. The dielectric measurements show that 30 wt% AC loading composite display higher relative permittivity value (~79) compared to pristine AR (~5). Further, the porous structure, electrical conductivity, and permittivity value contribute towards EMI shielding effectiveness value of −36 dB (attenuation of >99.9% of incident radiation) for these composites, thereby demonstrating their suitability for making efficient EMI shielding coatings.

Effect of Mg doping on the growth aspects, crystalline perfection, and optical and thermal properties of congruent LiNbO3 single crystals

Mg-doped congruent lithium niobate single crystals were grown by the Czochralski technique. High-quality single crystals were grown using a novel seeding technique in a resistive heating furnace. Analysis of crystalline perfection carried out by a multi-crystal X-ray diffractometer revealed that the grown crystals do not contain any structural grain boundaries but do contain point defects. The transmission characteristics showed an enhancement of band gap with an increase in Mg concentration. Conoscopy patterns revealed that the grown crystals are homogeneous and the incorporation of Mg into the lattice does not affect the optical sign (negative uniaxial) of the crystal. The refractive index measurements carried out using a prism coupler showed an increase in the optical birefringence (Δn), while the refractive index was found to decrease with the increase in doping concentration. Further, thermal conductivity was found to decrease with Mg incorporation in the lattice owing to phonon scattering from the Mg ions and, as a consequence, at high concentrations (>4 mol%) crack formation occurred. However, optimization of growth conditions reveals that a slower pulling rate leads to crack-free lithium niobate crystals even at 6 mol% Mg doping.