A new stilbazolium salt with perfectly aligned chromophores for second-order nonlinear optics: 4-N,N-Dimethylamino-4′-N′-methyl-stilbazolium 3-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate

A new organic nonlinear optical crystal 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4′-N′-methyl-stilbazolium 3-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate (DSCHS) has been developed with very promising properties for quadratic nonlinear optical applications. DSCHS single crystals with non-centrosymmetric structure have been obtained from aqueous methanol solution. X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that the crystal structure of DSCHS is triclinic P1 with the chromophores aligned perfectly parallel, leading to the maximum possible order parameter  = 1 in the crystalline state, which is optimal for electro-optics, THz-wave generation and field detection applications. Kurtz powder test has shown that DSCHS exhibits a very large second-order optical nonlinearity, with a 30 percent higher second-harmonic signal than the well-known organic nonlinear optical crystal 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4′-N′-methyl-stilbazolium tosylate (DAST).

► DSCHS exhibits a very large second-order optical nonlinearity 1.3 times of DAST. ► The crystal structure of DSCHS is triclinic P1. ► DSCHS single crystals were obtained from aqueous methanol solvent.