Growth of urea doped benzophenone single crystal for nonlinear optical applications

A new NLO material, urea doped benzophenone single crystals having different concentrations of urea were grown by slow solvent evaporation technique. The role of urea in benzophenone–ethanol–urea liquid system was analyzed by FTIR and dielectric studies at 1 kHz. The observed N–H stretching in addition to benzophenone functional groups absorptions in FTIR spectrum recorded on the grown crystal confirms the doping of urea. Also, the comparison between the finger print regions of benzophenone and urea doped benzophenone indicates that the grown crystal retain its benzophenone lattice matrix. The lattice parameters of the urea doped benzophenone were calculated using powder X-ray diffraction analysis. TG and DTA curve recorded on the 0.5 M urea doped benzophenone single crystal exhibits its thermal stability. The Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) efficiencies of the grown urea doped benzophenone single crystals were presented in comparison with Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP). The optical quality of the grown crystals was analyzed by the UV–VIS–NIR Transmission studies.