Oriented growth of benzophenone crystals from undercooled melts

The optimal phase-matching directions of benzophenone crystals were calculated and chosen as growth orientations for the type-I and II nonlinear optical interactions. Oriented crystals with faces normal to the optimal phase-matching directions were grown directly in a quartz glass crystallizer from undercooled melts using a seed holder to control the relative orientation between the seed and the crystallizer. The grown crystals were characterized employing X-ray diffraction analysis and UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometry. The results show that benzophenone crystals grown by the oriented growth from undercooled melts are suitable for application as nonlinear optical devices without cutting.