Controlled hydrothermal synthesis of β-BBO plates for detection of second harmonic generation

Crystalline β-bariumborate (BBO) plates were prepared by a hydrothermal reaction of γ-BBO powder at 200 °C. The structural evolution of micron-sized plates of β-BBO and their formation mechanism have been deduced by XRD and TG/DTA analysis. Thermal treatment did not change the plate morphology at temperatures ≤750 °C. The nonlinear optical property of the β-BBO plates can be readily exploited for detecting pulsed IR laser sources by second harmonic generation. A hydrothermal synthesis of β-BBO is presented which yields plate-like particles that exhibit a large second harmonic generation efficiency.