Studies on optical, mechanical and transport properties of NLO active l-alanine formate single crystal grown by modified Sankaranarayanan–Ramasamy (SR) method

Bulk single crystals of l-alanine formate of 10 mm diameter and 50 mm length have been grown with an aid of modified Sankaranarayanan–Ramasamy (SR) uniaxial crystal growth method within a period of ten days. The optical properties of the grown crystal were calculated from UV transmission spectral analysis. The second harmonic generation efficiency of the grown crystal was confirmed by Kurtz powder test. In order to determine the mechanical strength of the crystal, Vicker’s microhardness test was carried along the growth plane (0 0 1). Dielectric studies reveal that both dielectric constant and dielectric loss decreases with increase in frequency. Photoconductivity study confirms the negative photoconducting nature of the crystal.