Growth and characterization of non-linear optical L-hystidine tetrafluoroborate (L-HFB) single crystals

Single crystals of L-hystidine tetrafluoroborate (L-HFB) have been grown by low temperature solution growth technique. Solubility studies have been carried out for three different solvents (water, water + acetone and, water + ethanol), Among the three solvents, the L-HFB has the highest solubility in water and hence, crystals have been grown from aqueous solution. The grown crystals have been subjected to single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction studies to identify the morphology and structure. FTIR and optical transmission spectra reveal the optical properties of the grown crystals. The NLO property of the crystal has been confirmed by Kurtz SHG test. Comparing the output power, it has been confirmed that L-HFB crystals possess higher SHG efficiency than KDP. Microhardness studies carried out on different planes show an anisotropy in the hardness behavior. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.