Growth and characterization of bismuth zinc borate Bi2ZnB2O7 crystal fibers by the micro-pulling down technique

Bi2ZnB2O7 (BZBO) is a new non-linear optical material with high potential applications. In this paper, we report on the preparation of BZBO powder and growth of crystal fibers by the micro-pulling down technique (μ-PD) for the first time. Several fibers with constant diameter between 300 and 550 μm and length up to 100 mm were pulled in air atmosphere with rates between 4.5 and 12 mm h−1. Various physical and optical characterizations (optical microscopy, SEM, Raman micro-spectroscopy, and EDX microprobe) were performed to investigate the crystal quality and compositional homogeneity of the obtained fibers. The obtained fibers showed a uniform color from yellow to orange-red and a particular microstructure, presently attributed to the presence of disordered or glassy parts containing a Bi-rich compound.

► For the first time, BZBO crystal fibers are obtained.
► Discrepancies with some literature data are pointed out.
► The fibers contain disordered or glassy parts.