Investigation of growth, optical, thermal and dielectric studies of L-tartraic acid and samarium doped L-tartaric acid single crystals for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications

In the current work, the slow evaporation method was used to develop L-tartaric acid (LTA) single crystals and Samarium doped LTA single crystals at ambient temperature. The produced crystals’ structural, optical, thermal, dielectric, SHG, and laser damage characteristics were examined. The sample’s crystalline nature was verified by X-ray diffraction on the powder. The generated crystals crystallized in a P21 space group monoclinic crystal structure. The existence of different functional groups in the produced crystals was investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectrum analysis, and the presence of elements was determined using EDAX research. The large optical transmission window of the produced crystals was demonstrated by the linear optical transmittance spectrum. Thermal effects, including dehydration, melting, and breakdown of the produced crystals, were examined in TGA and DTA investigations. The crystals’ electro-optic and dielectric characteristics were analyzed. The dielectric loss and dielectric constant were computed taking temperature and frequency into account. Grown samples exhibit superior second-harmonic generation performance compared to potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP). The laser damage threshold values of grown-doped and LTA samples are higher than those of KDP.