SURFACE MORPHOLOGY, ETCHING AND MECHANICAL STRENGTH OF A SEMIORGANIC NONLINEAR OPTICAL CRYSTAL THIOUREA CADMIUM-ZINC SULPHATE (CZTS)

Thiourea cadmium-zinc sulphate (CZTS), a semi-organic nonlinear optical material has been grown from solution by slow evaporation technique. Solubility of the synthesized material has been determined for various temperatures using water as solvent. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies confirm that the grown crystal belongs to the triclinic system. The surface morphology and facets of the as-grown crystal were studied by contact goniometry. Functional groups present in the sample were identified by FTIR spectral analysis. Microhardness and etching studies have been carried out on the grown crystals. The SHG relative efficiency of thiourea cadmium-zinc sulphate crystal was found to be 1.8 times higher than that of KDP.