SOME POTENTIAL MIXED CHALCOPYRITE CRYSTALS FOR NONLINEAR LASER DEVICES

Of all nonlinear crystals the ternary chalcopyrite compounds have been established as most potential candidates for frequency mixing devices. Such processes demand high nonlinearity, wide transmission range, high damage threshold, and sufficient birefringence of the crystal. We introduce a new parameter x, the relative mole fraction of cation or anion constituent in a mixed crystal such as AgGa(S//xSe//1// minus //x)//2 which is derived from the chalcopyrite parents AgGaS//2 and AgGaSe//2. The advantage of this system is the ability to vary smoothly the optical properties such as crystal nonlinearity, transmission range, and crystal birefringence with x to match specific applications. 8 refs.