The new compound BaGa(4)Se(7) has been synthesized for the first time. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group Pc with a = 7.6252 (15) Å, b = 6.5114 (13) Å, c = 14.702 (4) Å, β = 121.24 (2)°, and Z = 2. In the structure, GaSe(4) tetrahedra share corners to form a three-dimensional framework with cavities occupied by Ba(2+) cations. The material is a wide-band gap semiconductor with the visible and IR optical absorption edges being 0.47 and 18.0 μm, respectively. BaGa(4)Se(7) melts congruently at 968 °C and exhibits a second harmonic generation response at 1 μm that is approximately 2-3 times that of the benchmark material AgGaS(2). A first-principles calculation of the electronic structure, linear and nonlinear optical properties of BaGa(4)Se(7) was performed. The calculated birefractive indexΔn = 0.08 at 1 μm and the major SHG tensor elements are: d(11) = 18.2 pm/V and d(13) = -20.6 pm/V. This new material is a very promising NLO crystal for practical application in the IR region.

The four compounds BaGa(2)MQ(6) (M = Si, Ge; Q = S, Se) have been identified as a new series of IR nonlinear optical (NLO) materials and are promising for practical applications. They are isostructural and crystallize in the noncentrosymmetric polar space group R3 of the trigonal system. Their three-dimensional framework is composed of corner-sharing (Ga/M)Q(4) (M = Si, Ge; Q = S, Se) tetrahedra with Ba(2+) cations in the cavities. The polar alignment of one (Ga/M)-Q2 bond for each (Ga/M)Q(4) tetrahedra along the c direction is conducive to generating a large NLO response, which was confirmed by powder second-harmonic generation (SHG) using a 2090 nm laser as fundamental wavelength. The SHG signal intensities of the two sulfides were close to that of AgGaS(2) and those for the two selenides were similar as that of AgGaSe(2). The large band gaps of 3.75(2) eV, 3.23(2) eV, 2.88(2) eV, and 2.22 (2) eV for BaGa(2)SiS(6), BaGa(2)GeS(6), BaGa(2)SiSe(6), and BaGa(2)GeSe(6), respectively, will be very helpful to increase the laser damage threshold. Moreover, all the four BaGa(2)MQ(6) (M = Si, Ge; Q = S, Se) compounds exhibit congruent-melting behavior, which indicates that bulk crystals needed for practical applications can be obtained by the Bridgman-Stockbarger method. The calculated birefringence indicates that these materials may be phase-matchable in the IR region and the calculated SHG coefficients agree with the experimental observations. According to our preliminary study, the BaGa(2)MQ(6) compounds represent a new series of promising IR nonlinear optical (NLO) materials which do not belong to the traditional chalcopyrite-type materials such as AgGaQ2 (Q = S, Se) and ZnGeP(2).

A new mercury selenide BaHgSe2 was synthesized. This air-stable compound displays a large nonlinear optical (NLO) response and melts congruently. The structure contains chains of corner-sharing [HgSe3](4-) anions in the form of trigonal planar units, which may serve as a new kind of basic functional group in IR NLO materials to confer large NLO susceptibilities and physicochemical stability. Such trigonal planar units may inspire a path to finding new classes of IR NLO materials of practical utility that are totally different from traditional chalcopyrite materials.

The new compound LiGaGe(2)Se(6) has been synthesized. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Fdd2 with a = 12.501(3) Å, b = 23.683(5) Å, c = 7.1196(14) Å, and Z = 8. The structure is a three-dimensional framework composed of corner-sharing LiSe(4), GaSe(4), and GeSe(4) tetrahedra. The compound exhibits a powder second harmonic generation signal at 2 μm that is about half that of the benchmark material AgGaSe(2) and possesses a wide band gap of about 2.64(2) eV. LiGaGe(2)Se(6) melts congruently at a rather low temperature of 710 °C, which indicates that bulk crystals can be obtained by the Bridgman-Stockbarger technique. According to a first-principles calculation, there is strong hybridization of the 4s and 4p orbitals of Ga, Ge, and Se around the Fermi level. The calculated birefractive index is Δn = 0.04 for λ ≥ 1 μm, and the calculated major SHG tensor elements are d(15) = 18.6 pm/V and d(33) = 12.8 pm/V. This new material is promising for application in IR nonlinear optics.

The four isostructural compounds Li(2)In(2)MQ(6) (M = Si, Ge; Q = S, Se) have been synthesized for the first time. They crystallize in the noncentrosymmetric monoclinic space group Cc with the three-dimensional framework composed of corner-sharing LiQ(4), InQ(4), and MQ(4) tetrahedra. The second-harmonic-generation signal intensities of the two sulfides and two selenides were close to those of AgGaS(2) and AgGaSe(2), respectively, when probed with a laser with 2090 nm as the fundamental wavelength. They possess large band gaps of 3.61(2) eV for Li(2)In(2)SiS(6), 3.45(2) eV for Li(2)In(2)GeS(6), 2.54(2) eV for Li(2)In(2)SiSe(6), and 2.30(2) eV for Li(2)In(2)GeSe(6), respectively. Moreover, these four compounds all melt congruently at relatively low temperatures, which makes it feasible to grow bulk crystals needed for practical application by the Bridgman-Stockbarger method.

New practically usable infrared (IR) nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals, especially those suitable for highly efficient pumping of the commercial 1 μm laser, are in urgent demand. However, only a few new IR NLO materials have been grown into bulk crystals and realized IR laser output during the past 20 years due to the extreme difficulty in achieving the coexistence of various strongly correlated properties. In this work, on the basis of the bonding characteristics of the Hg element and an efficient screening strategy for high-performance new crystals, we identified two new Hg-based IR NLO materials, BaHgGeSe4 and SrHgGeSe4. They crystallize in polar space group Ama2 with the distorted HgSe4 and GeSe4 tetrahedra aligned in parallel. They exhibit exceptional balance in terms of all of the preferred properties for practical applications, especially for highly efficient pumping of the commercial 1 μm laser. Their large band gap (∼2.5 eV) can avoid the two-photon absorption of the 1 μm laser and increase the laser damage threshold. They are phase matchable with a very strong NLO response (5 × AgGaS2). They can cover the 3–5 and 8–12 μm atmospheric windows. Moreover, they melt congruently, which indicates that bulk crystals can be obtained by the Bridgman method. Their overall properties are better than those of the traditional AgGaQ2 (Q = S or Se) materials to a large degree. Detailed structural analysis and calculations elucidate the crucial role of cations in regulating the packing of the anionic groups and that of the highly polarizable HgSe4 in balancing optical properties.

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(C3N3O3)3− is first proposed to be an excellent birefringent active group and the representative compounds Ba2M(C3N3O3)2 (M = Mg and Ca) are studied in detail.