Growth and optical absorption studies on potassium dihydrogen phosphate single crystals

Growth of bulk nonlinear optical (NLO) single crystals gained new significance with the advent of solid-state laser sources for opto-electronic applications. An optically transparent crystal of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) has been grown from aqueous solution along (001) plane with the aid of modified growth assembly of Sankaranarayanan-Ramasamy (SR) Method. The evaporation rate was controlled and single crystals of 5 mm diameter and 60 mm length with a growth rate 5 mm per day have been grown successfully. The improved transparency of grown crystal was investigated using DRS UV transmittance spectral analysis and the presence of functional groups in the grown crystal is confirmed using FTIR analysis. (© 2007 WILEY -VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)