SbF3: A new second-order nonlinear optical material

This paper reports, for the first time, the second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) property of SbF3, a potential new NLO material in the infrared region. The compound SbF3 exhibits a powder second harmonic generation (SHG) of about 5.8 times that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP). The NLO property is phase- matchable evidenced by the study on the relationship between the powder SHG effect and the size of the powders. It also shows excellent transparency in the range of 0.29–12 μm with high thermal stability. The band gap is calculated to be about 4.3 eV. The origin of NLO property is discussed in terms of the crystal structure.