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

N. Kozhaya (1) , M. Ferriol (1) , M. Cochez (1) , M. Aillerie (1)

1 LMOPS - Laboratoire Matériaux Optiques, Photonique et Systèmes

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 (mu-PD) for the first time. Several fibers with constant diameter between 300 and 550 mu m 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.

N. Kozhaya, M. Ferriol, M. Cochez, M. Aillerie. Growth and characterization of bismuth zinc borate Bi2ZnB2O7 crystal fibers by the micro-pulling down technique. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2013, 364, pp.51-56. ⟨10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2012.11.059⟩. ⟨hal-00772230⟩