Tuning the linear and non-linear optical properties of YCrO3 for optoelectronic applications

This paper reports the impact of annealing temperature on structural, linear and non-linear optical properties of YCrO3 (YCO), a perovskite belonging to ABO3 rare-earth orthochromates. Nanocrystalline YCO powder is synthesised using the sol-gel method. The detailed characterizations confirmed that the samples annealed at and above 700 degrees C are pure YCrO3possessing well-crystallinity and orthorhombic phase. It has been noted that the annealing temperature has a significant impact on various properties of YCO nanomaterials, including particle size, morphology, band gap, non-linear absorption coefficient, and optical limiting. Reddish-orange and red colour emissions were observed for YCO samples from the CIE chromaticity diagram. NLO properties were studied using the Z-scan technique with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser, and observed three photon like nonlinear absorption.