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This paper discusses the effect and evaluation of echocardiography based on lipid nano contrast agent on patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation in cardiology department, providing reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Fifty two patients with diastolic heart failure diagnosed by echocardiography were selected for routine echocardiographic examination after optimizing the drug treatment scheme, and then the patients underwent treadmill exercise test and stress echocardiography evaluation. The results of conventional echocardiography and stress echocardiography after treatment were compared with those before treatment, and the clinical parameters and biochemical indexes before and after treatment were compared. Results after treatment, the clinical symptoms of the patients improved, the level of NT proBNP in the N-terminal forebrain decreased significantly, and the exercise tolerance increased significantly. Compared with the conventional echocardiography before and after treatment, the left ratio and e′ value of stress echocardiography after treatment increased significantly, while E/e′ decreased significantly. There was no significant difference in the indexes of general echocardiography before and after treatment. After treatment, positively correlated with the ratio of peak a to peak E. The results show that the sensitivity of stress echocardiography to evaluate ischemic diastolic heart failure has been improved, and some indexes have clinical significance. Compared with conventional echocardiography, it can effectively evaluate the therapeutic effect of drugs.

The organic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal OH1 (2-(3-(4-hydroxystyryl)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enylidene) malononitrile) was grown by the seeded solution growth method with size up to 11 x 11 x 10 mm(3). The cooling rate would affect the crystal formation and lead to the different shapes of OH1 crystals. The hydrogen-bond interactions between the OH1 molecules played a prominent influence on the molecular alignment and the direction of crystal growth. Furthermore, the OH1 crystals grown horn the seeds on different orientations would form different morphologies. X-ray rocking curve showed good quality of the grown crystals. Continuous stiffness measurement showed that the hardness of the OH1 (100) and (111) plane was about 0.67 GPa and 0.51 GPa, while the Young's modulus was about 9.68 GPa and 11.91 GPa, respectively. The transmission spectra in the range of 0.5-20 mu m was measured and there was a transmission window appearing in the mid-infrared waveband of 4-6 mu m. With the OH1 crystal obtained, continuous THz wave radiation ranging from 0.25 to 3.0 THz was generated by an optical rectification method, which was two times as large as that generated from ZnTe in the low frequency band. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sm 3+ -doped La 2 CaB 10 O 19 (Sm:LCB) crystal with size of 40×25×15 mm 3 has been grown by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of Sm:LCB were measured at room temperature, and the fundamental spectral parameters, including transition probability A , fluorescence branch ratio β c , radioactive lifetime τ r , emission cross-sections σ em and intensity parameters Ω t (2,4,6) , have been calculated by applying the Judd–Ofelt theory. In Sm:LCB crystal, a strong 599 nm orange fluorescence emitting peak was observed under 410 nm excitation, which may be applied in the medicine and biological detection. Sm:LCB crystal may be a promising orange laser material.

A series of potassium barium rare earth borates, KBaRE(B3O6)2 (RE = Y, Eu, and Tb), have been synthesized with solid state reaction techniques. Single crystals of the first member of the series, KBaY(B3O6)2, have been grown via spontaneous crystallization. Single crystal X-ray diffraction results show that KBaY(B3O6)2 belongs to the trigonal system, space group R 3 ¯ with cell parameters of a = 7.1677(10) A, c = 17.588(4) A, and Z = 3. The nearly planar B3O6 groups serve as the fundamental building units, which are distributed layer upon layer along the c axis. Regular YO6 octahedra and irregular Ba/KO9 polyhedra alternately locate between the B3O6 layers and form YO6 and Ba/KO9 polyhedra layers, respectively. DSC analysis shows that the melting point of KBaY(B3O6)2 is 989 °C, and the X-ray powder diffraction pattern of melted KBaY(B3O6)2 crystal confirms that it melts incongruently. The photoluminescence properties of KBaEu(B3O6)2 and KBaTb(B3O6)2 under UV excitation have also been investigated.

A single crystal of size 5×5×2 mm3 of the organic nonlinear optical salt DSTMS (4-N,N-dimethylamino-4′-N′-methyl-stilbazolium 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate) was grown from solution with seed applied, where growth conditions were optimized. The crystal morphology and growth habit of DSTMS in the presence of seed crystal have been investigated and discussed in the paper. Powder XRD, DSC, TG, FTIR, and transmission and Raman spectroscopies have been applied to characterize the crystallographic structure, and optical and thermal properties of DSTMS. Based on the spectral data, the mechanisms of pronounced nonlinear optical properties of DSTMS are found to be correlated to its bonds in both cation and anion.

La 2 CaB 10 O 19 (LCB) is a new NLO crystal, in which Nd 3+ can be doped with different concentrations to be self-frequency doubling crystals. We obtained seven LCB crystals with different Nd 3+ concentrations grown by flux method. Refractive indices, absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra of the seven LCB crystals with various Nd 3+ doping concentrations have been measured and evaluated. It has been found that the 5 mol% Nd doped LCB crystal is most appropriate to be a laser material, by fitting the absorption spectrum with the Judd-Ofelt theory, radiative lifetime τ r of Nd 3+ in the 5 mol% Nd doped LCB crystal is determined to be 237.8 μs. For the 5 mol% Nd doped LCB crystal, the absorption cross section at 799 nm and the emission cross section at 1050 nm are 4.52 × 10 ―20 and 1.29 x 10 ―19 cm 2 , respectively. The measured fluorescence lifetime τ f of the 5 mol% Nd doped LCB crystal is 85 μs and its quantum efficiency is 35.7%.

Using Na 2 CO 3 –H 3 BO 3 –NaF as fluxes, transparent RE :Na 3 La 9 O 3 (BO 3 ) 8 (abbr. RE :NLBO, RE =Er, Yb) crystals have been grown by the top seed solution growth (TSSG) method. The X-ray powder diffraction analysis shows that the RE :NLBO crystals have the same structure with NLBO. The element contents were determined by molar to be 0.64% Er 3+ in Er:NLBO, 2.70% Yb 3+ in Yb:NLBO, respectively. The polarized absorption spectra of RE :NLBO have been measured at room temperature and show that both Er:NLBO and Yb:NLBO have a strong absorption bands near 980 nm with wide FWHM (Full Wave at Half Maximum) (21 nm for Er:NLBO and 25 nm for Yb:NLBO). Fluorescence spectra have been recorded. Yb:NLBO has the emission peaks at 985 nm, 1028 nm and 1079 nm and the emission peak of Er:NLBO is at 1536 nm. Spectral parameters have been calculated by the Judd–Ofelt theory for Er:NLBO and the reciprocity method for Yb:NLBO, respectively. The calculated values show that Er:NLBO is a candidate of 1.55 μm laser crystals and Yb:NLBO is a candidate for self-frequency doubling crystal.

A series of pure and Nd3+-doped La2CaB10O19 (LCB) crystals have been grown along different crystallographic directions, [001], [010], [100], [101], ∼[±1,−1,0], and ∼[±1,1,0], respectively, by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. The effect of seed orientations on the morphologies and the key limiting factors for obtaining high-usage LCB crystals were carefully analyzed. Using the improved method, we grew successfully the high-usage pure and Nd3+-doped LCB crystals with high quality and sizes up to 55 × 35 × 20 mm3, which were larger, and their morphologies were much more suitable for optical applications than those of the available literature.

A non-centrosymmetric fluoride borate, Ba3Sr4(BO3)3F5, has been synthesized by solid state reaction techniques, and a single crystal was grown by the top-seeded solution growth method using NaF as flux. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis shows the structure to be hexagonal with space group P63mc (No. 186) and the following cell parameters: a = b = 10.8953(16) A, c = 6.9381(15) A, and Z = 2. It exhibits an intricate 3-dimensional framework of interconnecting Ba(1)O(1)3O(2)4F(2) polyhedra, Sr(1)O(2)4F(1)2F(3) polyhedra, Sr(2)O(2)6F(1)3F(3) polyhedra, and isolated BO3 triangles. The infrared spectrum indicates that the Ba3Sr4(BO3)3F5 crystal contains characteristic BO33− groups as its basic structural units, which is consistent with the crystallographic study. The transparency spectrum shows that the as-grown crystal is transparent in the wavelength range of 270 to 2550 nm, the highest transmittance exceeds 85%, and the UV cutoff wavelength is about 210 nm.The thermal analysis shows that it is chemica...

K2Zn3(P2O7)2was synthesized by solid state reaction and its crystal structure was determined byab initiomethod from powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data. The title compound was determined to be orthorhombic with space groupP212121,Z=4, and lattice parametersa=12.901(8) Å,b=10.102(6) Å, andc=9.958(1) Å. Values of lattice parameters from 303 to 573 K were measured by temperature-dependent XRD. Thermal expansion coefficientsα0, lattice parameters, and cell volume at 0 K were determined to beα0(a)=1.62327×10−4/K,a0=12.855(4) Å,α0(b)=1.17921×10−4/K,b0=10.070(8) Å,α0(c)=2.62364×10−4/K,c0=9.880(4) Å, andα0(V)=6.599×10−2/K,V0=1278.967(0) Å3. The specific heat equation as a function of temperature was determined to beCp=0.77115+0.00231T−1241.60027T−2−1.4133×10−6T2(J/K g), for temperatures from 198 to 710 K. The melting point estimated from theμ-DTA heating curve is 795 °C.

A new compound, Na2Zn5(PO4)(4), was identified in the system ZnO-Na2O-P2O5 and high-quality crystal was obtained by the melt method. The crystal structure of this compound was solved by direct method from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. The structure was then refined anisotropically using a full-matrix least square refinement on F-2 and the refinement converged to R-1 = 0.0233 and wR(2) = 0.0544. This compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic system with space group Pbcn, lattice parameters a=10.381(2) angstrom, b=8.507(1) angstrom, c = 16.568(3) angstrom and Z = 4. The structure is made up of 3D [Zn5P4O16](n)(2n-) covalent framework consisting of [Zn4P4O16](n)(4n-) layers. The powder diffraction pattern of Na9Zn21(PO4)(17) is explained by simulating a theoretical pattern with NaZnPO4 and Na2Zn5(PO4)(4) in the molar ratio of 1:4 and then by Rietveld refinement of experimental pattern. Na2Zn5(PO4)(4) melts congruently at 855 degrees C and its conductivity is 5.63 x 10(-9) S/cm. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Single crystals of Yb, Nd: KLu(WO4)2 (Yb, Nd: KLW) of dimensions up to 40mm× 40mm×5mm have been grown by top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. X-ray powder diffraction pattern was measured and compared with that of Nd: KLuW and Yb: KLuW. Absorption and fluorescence spectra were measured at room temperature. The Judd-Ofelt theory was applied to analyze the spectrum of Nd, Yb: KLuW crystal. The intensity parameters Ωt (t=2, 4 and 6) were calculated as Ω2=20.68×10-20cm2, Ω4=11.04×10-20cm2, Ω6=6.74×10-20cm2 respectively, with a root mean square deviation of 0.58×10-20 cm2. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The crystals of Sm3+-doped KLu(WO4)2 with large dimensions up to 40 mm × 33 mm × 13 mm have been grown by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. The spectral and luminescent properties have been investigated. Based on the Judd–Ofelt theory, the following spectral parameters have been obtained: the phenomenological intensity parameters Ωt, Ω2 = 15.728 × 10−20 cm2, Ω4 = 4.223 × 10−20 cm2 and Ω6 = 2.839 × 10−20 cm2, radiative transition probabilities A J , J ′ and oscillator strengths P J , J ′ . The radiative lifetime of levels 4G5/2 is 748 μs. However, the measured emission lifetime is τem = 569 μs. The quantum efficiency is very low because of the excited state absorption. In addition, the values of integrated emission cross-sections are also calculated.

Single crystal of Yb, Tm:KLu(WO4)2 (Yb, Tm:KLuW) with the size of 47×32×15 mm3 has been grown by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. The absorption spectrum was measured at room temperature. The measured specific heat is lower than that of KGd(WO4)2 (0.502 J/g K) at 100 °C, but it is similar to that of Yb:KLuW (0.365 J/g K) at 90 °C. The measured mean linear coefficients of thermal expansion are αc=16.61×10−6 K−1, αc*=15.04×10−6 K−1, αa=11.91×10−6 K−1, αa*=11.50×10−6 K−1, αb=5.91×10−6 K−1. The thermal conductivity coefficients are 2.71, 2.60, 2.22, 3.32 and 3.14 W/mK at 30 °C along the a, a*, b, c* and c directions, respectively. The results indicate that the crystal has a large anisotropy. The large anisotropy indicated that we should heat or cool the crystal with the temperature changing at a lower speed.

Tungstate crystals including potassium rare earth metal double tungstates KRE(WO 4 ) 2 and barium tungstate BaWO 4 are reliable and efficient Raman active crystals. In this paper, we report on the growth, physical properties and laser performance of these crystals. The pump threshold of Nd: KLu(WO 4 ) 2 pumped by a laser diode (LD) is 24 mW, and up to 188.3 mW of cw output at 1.073 μm is obtained with 746 mW pump power. The optical conversion efficiency is 25.3%, and the slope efficiency of the laser is 26.1%. The cw output for Yb:KLu(WO 4 ) 2 at 1.03 μm is 3.4 W pumped by an LD. Below 0.25 mJ pump energy, we obtained 0.07 mJ Raman laser output in the yellow (the first Stokes line at 559.7 nm) and the orange (the second Stokes line at 590.3 nm) with a 30-mm-long c -axis-oriented BaWO 4 crystal. The conversion efficiency of the Raman laser is about 28%.

KLu(WO4)2 (KLuW) crystals with sizes up to 42×32×12 mm3 have been grown from the K2W2O7 solvent system by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) slow-cooling method. The crystal structure of monoclinic KLuW crystals has been refined in space group C2/c at room temperature by using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data and the KLuW morphology was studied from the Hartman–Perdok theory. Crystal shapes vary greatly with the seed orientations, whereas {1 1 0}, {1¯ 1 1}, {0 2 0} and {3 1 0} faces are more developed than the others.

C-axis preferred oriented ZnO thin films were prepared on quartz substrates by RF sputtering. Photoconductive ultraviolet detector with planar interdigital electrodes was fabricated on ZnO thin film by the lift off technique. Linear I-V characteristic was observed under dark or 365 nm UV light illumination and has obvious difference. The photoresponsivity of 365 nm at 5 V bias is 18 A/W. The response time measure set mainly contains KrF excimer laser with the pulse width of 30 ns and the oscillograph with the bandwidth of 200 MHz. The result shows fast photoresponse with a rise time of 100 ns and fall time of 1.5 mu s. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Large-aperture potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals are unique candidates for Pockels cells and frequency-doubling devices used in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). However, the low damage threshold of KDP greatly limits the application in all fields. This paper reviews the studies of laser-induced damage mechanisms of KDP in recent years. In addition, our viewpoints about the paths to improve the optical qualities are also discussed.

The crystal of Dy 3+ -doped YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 (Dy:YAB) has been grown by top-seeded solution growth method. The dispersion parameters of the refractive indices are measured and fitted by the least-squares method. Optical absorption and emission intensities of Dy 3+ ions in YAB are investigated. Based on the Judd–Ofelt theory, the spectral parameters: intensity parameters Ω t , radiative transition probabilities A J,J ′ , oscillator strengths f J,J ′ and the radiative lifetime of selected levels, have been obtained. The value of integrated emission cross section was also calculated. The results indicate that Dy:YAB may be considered as laser active materials operating near 2.7, 1.7, and 0.6 μm, respectively.

High optical-quality Nd 3 + -doped KLu(WO 4 ) 2 crystal with sizes up to 55 mm × 27 mm × 15 mm has been successfully grown by top-seeded solution growth method. Continuous wave (CW) laser output up to 188.3 mW of Nd 3 + -doped KLu(WO 4 ) 2 crystals at 1.073 μ m (in the F 3 / 2 4 → I 11 / 2 4 channel) has been achieved with a 1 mm Nd:KLuW crystal under pumping by a 2 W laser-diode (LD) at room temperature. The optical conversion efficiency is 25.3%, which is superior to the former results because 20% optical conversion efficiency was achieved with a 10 mm Nd:KLuW crystal by Kaminskii.

The undoped rubidium gadolinium bis(tungstate) crystals, RbGd(WO 4 ) 2 (RGW), have been grown by the spontaneous nucleation from high-temperature solutions. The crystal structure has been refined at room temperature by using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The unit-cell parameters are a =10.6953(12) A, b =10.5017(11) A, c =7.6064(11) A, β =130.504(7)°, with Z = 4 in space group C2/c, which is a little difference with KGd(WO 4 ) 2 . Crystal habits were predicted by the attachment energy model of Hartman and Perdok and we compared predictions to experimentally grown crystal shapes.

The laser host crystals of KLu(WO4)2(KLuW) with large dimensions up to 43 × 35 × 16 mm3 have been grown along b, a*, c, and [111] crystallographic directions, respectively, from the melt by the to...

High-quality Nd-doped gadolinium vanadate thin films on silica glass substrates were fabricated successfully by using a pulsed laser deposition technique. The properties of the samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and prism-coupling measurements. The RBS shows no obvious evidence for interdiffusion between the film and the substrate. The ratio of Gd/V in the film is 0.995. X-ray diffraction results show that the as-deposited Nd:GdVO 4 film is basically oriented polycrystalline, and strong (2 0 0) peak was revealed. The refractive indices of the films determined with dark-mode prism coupling measurements are slightly smaller than that of the bulk crystal.

Single crystal of erbium, ytterbium-codoped yttrium aluminum tetraborate Er,Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 (Er,Yb:YAB) has been grown by the flux method. The absorption spectrum in the visible and NIR regions of Er,Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 crystal are measured at room temperature and fluorescence spectrum of Er,Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 crystal are also measured at room temperature, excited by 976 nm laser. Not only the strong NIR emission peaks located at 1548 nm was observed, but also the visible up-conversion luminescence has been found. The specific heat of the Er/Yb:YAB crystal at room temperature is 0.81 J/g °C.

Cesium doped KTP crystals with high optical quality have been grown using a flux growth method in various cesium content starting materials. The transmission curve showed a high transmission near UV absorption edge. The conductivity in z direction of these crystals is one order lower in magnitude than that of KTP. The phase-matching (PM) curves for SHG, SFG of Ce:KTP were determined. An effective blue coherent laser was obtained through SFG process using Ce:KTP crystal.

We present the results of an in situ atomic force microscopy investigation of the growth mechanisms of CdHg(SCN) 4 (H 6 C 2 OS) 2 CMTD crystals. The results show that spiral growth at screw dislocations dominates at a supersaturation σ =∼0.1%. On the (0 0 1) surface, alternate CMTD layers are related through a 2 1 screw axis and the development of a spiral protuberance was observed with alternate growth modes having two different characteristic layers. The growth of the first CMTD layer continued for 16 min before the next layer began to grow on top of it. However, it took only 2 min for the next layer to continue its growth. We felicitously refer to them as ACTIVE layers and LAZY layers in this paper. The LAZY layers separated into two different types of elementary-steps with step height h 1 =0.69 nm and h 2 =0.72 nm on top of the spiral protuberance on the {0 0 1} face of the CMTD crystals. Two different types of straight edge always in the same direction were periodically observed when the screw protuberance grows.

Single crystals of KBeBO3F (KBBF) up to 2 mm in thickness were grown by using a spontaneous nucleation method. The flux was composed of KF and B2O3, and the optimal ratio for growing KBBF single crystal thicker than 1 mm is suggested to be (1.0–1.5):(5.0):(0.7–1.2) (KBBF:KF:B2O3) in molar ratio. The ideal morphology of.KBBF is two sets of tabular facets and a set of rhombic facets. Surface morphology.was characterized both by optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Transmission spectra showed that high transmission was maintained up to 170 nm. Based on refractive index measurements, phase matching curves for types I and II were determined. Using a prism coupling method, the effective fourth harmonic generation for an Nd:YAB laser was realized in an 0.6-mm-thick KBBF sample. The output energy of the 266-nm beam was 0.282 mJ, and the conversion efficiency was 11.8%. A 183.6-nm laser over 1 mW was obtained from a Ti:sapphire second harmonic generation beam in an 0.8-mm KBBF sample. The conversion efficiency reached 2.3%. A 179.4-nm laser was also observed from a 358.7-nm laser by directly frequency doubling. This is the shortest wavelength obtained through nonlinear optical processes in a solid-state laser.

The stability of cadmium mercury thiocyanate (CMTC) crystal growth solution was mainly discussed. The effects of temperature, pH value, time and KCl concentration on CMTC crystal growth were investigated. The effects of pH value and KCl concentration on crystallization habit of CMTC were also studied. The results show that when pH value ranges from 2.5 to 3.8, the solution is relatively stable, under the condition of pH < 2.0 or pH ≥ 4.0, the solution has poor stability and some powder appears. The solution becomes unstable at high temperatures. When the concentration of KCl is more than 27% there has not generated CMTC crystal in the solution, a new kind of material produced from solution. The pH value and KCl concentration affect crystalline morphology of CMTC crystal.

Large single crystals of the coordination complex nonlinear optical material zinc cadmium thiocyanate, ZnCd(SCN) 4 (abbreviated as ZCTC), were grown from aqueous solutions by the solvent evaporation method. The morphology of the crystals was indexed. The grown crystals were characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction analysis allowing to identify the diffraction planes. Six kinds of macro-defects were found in ZCTC large crystals. These defects include cracks, inclusions, negative crystals, growth striations, sector boundaries and straight pipes. The morphologies and distribution regularities of these defects were observed and analyzed using optical microscopy. Their formation mechanisms and the methods of eliminating these defects are discussed.

The habit of cadmium mercury thiocyanate (CMTC) crystal for laser diode frequency doubling when crystallized from KCl–H2O solutions at 28°C under different conditions was investigated by means of a micro-crystallization method. The results show that CMTC crystals exhibit a regular crystalline morphology, homogenous growth rate in different directions and are transparent when the concentration of KCl ranges from 3% to 10% and pH from 3.0 to 4.0. Decrease in pH value leads to an increase in the crystallization rate along the c-axis direction, and a decrease along the a-axis direction. Impurities greatly affect the crystalline quality and morphology of the crystal. With aging and increasing temperature the solution becomes unstable. In this paper, suitable conditions and key factors for CMTC crystal growth are discussed.

New nonlinear crystal Na3La9O3(BO3)8 (NLBO) with good optical quality and weighing 45 g with size of 38 × 30 × 20 mm3 has been grown by the optimized top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. Therm...

Single crystals of ZnBi2B2O7 (ZBBO) have been successfully grown by the top-seeded growth method from a high-temperature melt. The crystal was colorless and transparent with size of 15×10×5 mm3. The orientation of ZBBO crystal has been discussed. The melting point, molar enthalpy of fusion, and molar entropy of fusion of the crystal were determined to be 964.02 K, 110680.36 J mol−1, and 113.92 J K−1 mol−1, respectively. The transparency range of the crystal extends from 370 to 2100 nm.

Nd: NaLu(WO4)2 single crystals have been grown by the top seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. The peaks shown in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern were assigned. The crystal belongs to the space group of I41/a and the unit-cell parameters were calculated as a = b = 5.168 A, c = 11.174 A, V = 298.46 A3. It is a tetragonal scheelite-like single crystal. The DSC (differential scanning calorimeter) curve proved that the as-grown crystal had a glass transition at the temperature range of 733.8 °C–781.4 °C which was lower than its melting point at 1149.3 °C. The absorption and fluorescence spectra were measured at room temperature.

A single crystal of Tb: KLu(WO4)2 with dimensions of 40 mm × 40 mm × 18 mm has been grown by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. The color of the crystal is brown. Absorption and fluorescence spectra were measured at room temperature. The measured specific heat is a little lower than that of Yb: KLW (0.365 J/g K) at 90 °C. The measured mean linear coefficients of thermal expansion are αa = 17.1643 × 10− 6 K− 1, αa⁎ = 14.0896 × 10− 6 K− 1, αb = 8.7938 × 10− 6 K− 1, αc = 23.1745 × 10− 6 K− 1, αc⁎ = 20.2866 × 10− 6 K− 1. The results indicate that the crystal has a large anisotropy. The refractive index was measured.

Monoclinic rubidium gadolinium bis(tungstate) single crystals, RbGd(WO 4 ) 2 (RGW), have been grown by the spontaneous nucleation from high-temperature solutions. The thermal properties were firstly studied by measuring DSC, TG and specific heat. The melting point was determined to be 1089 °C. The measured specific heat ranges from 0.141 J g − 1 K − 1 to 0.564 J g − 1 K − 1 in the temperature range from 60 °C to 700 °C, a value that is slightly smaller than that of KGd(WO 4 ) 2 . An infrared spectrum of the crystal was recorded in the frequency range of 50 to 1000 cm − 1 and all vibration frequency peaks were assigned.

The title compound, KZnB3O6 contains a remarkable [B6O12]6− group (overline{1} symmetry) formed by two rings linked by edge-sharing BO4 tetrahedra, a feature that has only been observed previously under high pressure conditions. These borate groups are connected through distorted ZnO4 tetrahedra in edge-shared pairs (overline{1} symmetry), forming a three-dimensional network whose cavities are filled by K+ cations.

The electronic structure and geometric distribution of neutral and charged states of interstitial oxygen in potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) are investigated using a first-principles method. The energy gap is lowered to about $4.2\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$ from the density-functional theory (DFT) value of $5.9\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$ by a neutral O interstitial, which corresponds to a two-photon absorption of $364\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}$ $(3.4\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV})$ after correction of $1.3\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$ due to the underestimation of the band gap using the DFT. The addition of a single electron lowers the gap to $1.4\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$. The addition of two electrons leads to the formation of an isolated interstitial ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}\mathrm{O}$ molecule in KDP accompanied by the breaking of two hydrogen-bonded chains, and thus no defect states appear in the energy gap. The results can be utilized to explain the recently reported decomposition of KDP during a laser-induced breakdown.

In the title compound, K(9)Al(3)(PO(4))(6), the anionic substructure is built of inter-linked [PO(4)] and [AlO(4)] tetra-hedra. Each O atom of the [AlO(4)] tetra-hedron is common to a positionally different [PO(4)] tetra-hedron; thus, each [AlO(4)] tetra-hedron is surrounded by four positionally different [PO(4)] tetra-hedra. On the other hand, each [PO(4)] tetra-hedron shares its two O atoms with two positionally different [AlO(4)] tetra-hedra; the other two phosphate O atoms are terminal ones coordinated by K atoms. The terminal O atoms are usually closer to the K atoms than the bridging O atoms between the [AlO(4)] and [PO(4)] tetra-hedra. There are nine symmetry-independent K atoms in the structure. The coordination numbers of the K atoms are 6 or 7 or 8 up to a distance of 3.31 Å. There are channels in the anionic substructure oriented along the [10] direction that are filled by K atoms.

A transparent NaBa4Al2B8O18Cl3 (NBAC) crystal with dimensions of 38 × 36 × 10 mm3 was successfully grown by the top-seeded solution growth method using a new flux NaF–NaCl. The crystallization region of NBAC is revealed in a quasi-ternary system of NBAC–NaF–NaCl. By means of eliminating the extrinsic UV absorption of Fe3+ impurity, the UV absorption edge was redetermined to be 183 nm rather than the previously reported 230 nm. The nonlinear optical (NLO) coefficients of NBAC were measured by the Maker fringe technique, which gave results of d15 = 1.27d36(KDP) = 0.49 pm V−1; d33 = 2.25d36(KDP) = 0.88 pm V−1. Calculations on the local dipole moment reveal that the NLO effect of NBAC is attributable to ClNaBa4 polyhedra, BO3 triangles, and ClBa4 tetrahedra. In addition, the ac dielectric and conductivity were measured using complex I–V method.

In the crystal structure of the title organic salt, C16H19N2+·C9H11O3S−·H2O, the cations pack head-to-tail within a sheet and are aligned in opposite directions in neighboring sheets. The benzene ring of the anion makes an angle of 76.99 (6)° with the plane of the cationic chromophore. The cations are situated in the ab plane, whereas the benzene rings of the anions lie in the ac plane.

Crystals of β-Zn(3)(BO(3))(PO(4)) have been grown by the Kyropoulos method. The asymmetric unit contains three Zn sites, three B-atom sites (all with symmetry 3), two P sites (both with m symmetry) and nine O-atom sites (four with m symmetry). The fundamental building units of the title structure are isolated BO(3) triangles and PO(4) tetra-hedra, which are bridged by ZnO(4) tetra-hedra or ZnO(5) trigonal bipyramids through common O atoms, leading to a three-dimensional framework structure. Some significant structural differences between the β-polymorph and the α-polymorph are discussed.