Study on growth, structural, optical, thermal and mechanical properties of organic single crystal ethyl p-amino benzoate (EPAB) grown using vertical Bridgman technique

Ethyl p-aminobenzoate (EPAB) single crystal was grown using vertical Bridgman technique (VBT). The crystal system of grown crystal was identified, and lattice parameters have been measured from the powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The optical transparency of EPAB single crystal was 55%, and the cut-off wavelength was found to be 337 nm. The thermal stability of EPAB single crystal was analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis. Etching studie were carried out for the grown crystal using different solvents, and etch pit density (EPD) was calculated and compared. Vickers microhardness (Hv) measurements revealed that EPAB belongs to the category of soft material. The dielectric studies reveal that the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of grown crystal decreases with increasing frequency for various temperatures. The third-order nonlinear optical property of EPAB was investigated and compared with other organic crystals. The evaluation of third-order optical properties such as nonlinear refractive index (n2), nonlinear absorption (β) and third-order nonlinear susceptibility (χ3) have found to be in the range of 10−11 m2/W, 10−4 m/W and 10−5 esu respectively. The Laser damage threshold energy of EPAB was measured using Nd: YAG laser. The blue emission of the grown crystal was identified by photoluminescence (PL) spectra measurements. The second harmonic generation (SHG) for the grown EPAB crystal was confirmed by Kurtz powder technique.