Growth and characterization of a new nonlinear optical l-histidine acetate single crystals

Bulk single crystals of l-histidine acetate dihydrate (LHA), a new organic nonlinear material was successfully grown from aqueous solution for the first time by slow evaporation method. The solubility of LHA was determined in water and good optical quality single crystal of dimensions up to 21 × 13 × 9 mm3 was obtained. The grown crystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FTIR, UV–Vis–NIR, microhardness and DTA/TGA studies. The SHG efficiency is found to be higher than that of KDP crystal. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the crystal were studied as function of frequency and the results are discussed. Photoconductivity studies of LHA reveal its positive photoconducting nature.