Feasibility study on Czochralski (Cz) growth of 3-methoxy 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde (MHBA) single crystals for nonlinear optical applications

Reported large nonlinear optical coefficients such as d(22) = 23.8d(36)(KDP), d(21) = 13.5d(36)(KDP), d(23) = 29.1d(36)(KDP), d(25) = 12.8d(36)(KDP) of 3-methoxy 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde (MHBA) attract research on its bulk crystal growth for device application. The X-ray rocking and X-ray topographic studies of Cz-grown organic monoclinic crystals invariably reveal closely aligned sub-crystals which made melt growth difficult. In this context, the single crystal growth of MHBA by Czochralski pulling technique has been successfully demonstrated for the first time in the literature. Comparison study of obtained X-ray powder diffraction data with the literature confirmed the monoclinic structure. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) study confirms the better crystalline perfection of the grown crystal in comparison to that of solution-grown crystals and revealed the optimization of the growth process along [211(-)] direction. TG, DTA and optical transmission studies carried out on the grown crystal exhibit its thermal and optical properties for SHG application. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.