Novel organic molecular second harmonic generation crystal: 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde

Abstract

In considering the trade-off between second-order nonlinearity and transparency, a new organic molecular crystal 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde (MHBA) has been grown from solution by the temperature lowering method for the first time. MHBA belongs to the monoclinic system, and its space group is P21. The unit cell dimensions are: a=14.057, b=7.875, c=15.037 Å with β=115.45°. The powder second harmonic generation of MHBA is 30 times higher than that of urea and the cutoff wavelength is 370 nm.