Hexagonal modification of Lithium Iodate (a-LiIO3) is grown from the aqueous solutions. Wide transparency range combined with good non-linear, acousto-optical and piezoelectric properties makes this crystal valuable for a number of applications including laser harmonics generation and different frequency mixing to obtain tunable output at 3 - 5.4 mm. Other applications are autocorrelators, AO devices manufacturing and piezoelectric sensors. Crystal is hygroscopic and requires the protection from humidity. Another limitation can be concerned with strong dependence of some LiIO3 properties (dielectric and acoustical attenuation) on the growth conditions (pH of solution).
| Crystal Symmetry | Hexagonal | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Point Group | 6 | ||
| Lattice Constant, Å | a = 5.4815 c = 5.1709 |
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| Density, g/cm3 | 4.5 | ||
| Mohs Hardness | 4 | ||
| Melting Point, °C | 420 | ||
| Phase Transition Point, °C | 247 | ||
| Thermal Expansion Coefficient (10-6/K) | Z|| = 48 Z^= 28 |
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| Optical Transmission, mm | 0.31 - 5.5 | ||
| Refractive Indices: | l, mm | no | ne |
| 0.633 | 1.8830 | 1.7367 | |
| 1.064 | 1.8517 | 1.7168 | |
| Non-linear Optical Coeff. (pm / V at 1.064 mm) | d31 = - 7.1 d33 = - 7.0 |
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| Optical Absorption (cm-1 at 1.064 mm) | < 0.005 | ||
| Laser Damage Threshold at 1.064 mm, MW/cm2 | 250 | ||
Optical elements are cut from high quality boules grown from close to
neutral aqueous solutions. This ensures good crystal homogeneity, absence of inclusions
and absorption bands in the whole transmission range.
Optical elements sizes are up to 20 x 20 x 40 mm.
| Standard orientations are: | Type I, q = 30° for SHG 1064 nm, Type I, q = 58° for THG 1064 nm, Type I, q = 22.5° for DFM. |
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Typical fabrication specs. are: 20/10 Scratch/Dig., l flatness, 1 arc. min. parallelism.
Few examples of applications of LiIO3
Lithium Iodate Crystal for second harmonic generation (SHG)
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Del Mar Ventures 4119 Twilight Ridge San Diego, CA 92130 tel (858) 755-6727 fax (858) 755-6771 v/efax (858) 630-2376 v/efax: (509) 752-0123 delmar@sciner.com |
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