A Study on Structural, Optical, Electrical and Etching Characteristics of Pure and L-Alanine Doped Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate Crystals

Abstract

Pure potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals and KDP doped with L-alanine have been grown by slow evaporation technique at room temperature. Grown crystals have been characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The presence of L-alanine into pure KDP crystal was confirmed by FTIR and EDX spectra. Crystal structure has been studied by XRD. Pure KDP and L-alanine doped KDP crystals both possessed tetragonal structure. The transparency is found to increase with the increase of doping concentrations of the grown crystals as observed by UV-Vis spectra. A.C. electrical conductivity of grown crystals along the growth axis was carried out at various temperatures ranging from 35?C - 400?C. Dielectric constant and dielectric losses are measured as a function of temperature and this study reveals the contribution of space charge polarization. Crystal defects and surface morphology are studied by dissolution solvent technique and reveals the step growth mechanism for both pure and doped crystals.