A New Nonlinear Optical Borate Crystal Na3La2(BO3)3

Abstract A new nonlinear optical (NLO) borate crystal Na3La2(BO3)3 (sodium lanthanum borate, NLBO) has been discovered. The bar-shaped crystal with sizes up to 8 × 3 × 2 mm3 was grown by the Top-Seeded Solution Growth (TSSG) method using Na2CO3–H3BO3–NaF as fluxes. The measurement of the infrared spectrum indicated that the basic anionic group is the BO3 group. Furthermore, NLBO crystal exhibits an optical second harmonic generation effect about twice as large as that of KDP(KH2PO4).