Na8Lu2(CO3)6F2 and Na3Lu(CO3)2F2: Rare Earth Fluoride Carbonates as Deep-UV Nonlinear Optical Materials

Two nonlinear optical fluoride carbonate crystals (Na8Lu2(CO3)6F2 and Na3Lu­(CO3)2F2) have been synthesized under subcritical hydrothermal condition. Both crystals crystallize in the noncentrosymmetric space group Cc (No. 9). The structure of Na8Lu2(CO3)6F2 with high density of [CO3] groups is described as 1D [Na5Lu­(CO3)2F2] chains connected by [CO3] triangles, forming an intricate three-dimensional framework. Lu3+ and Na+ cations are alternatively ordered and disordered in the cavities of the 3D network. The structure of Na3Lu­(CO3)2F2 is built up from the [NaLu­(CO3)2F2] layers which are separated by other Na+ cations. The [CO3] anionic groups arrange approximately coparallel to the plane. The second harmonic generation (SHG) measurement indicates that Na8Lu2(CO3)6F2 and Na3Lu­(CO3)2F2 have large SHG responses that are approximately 4.29 and 4.21 times KH2PO4 (KDP), respectively. The responses are also phase-matchable in the visible region. In addition, it exhibits wide transparent regions ranging from UV to near IR with a short UV cutoff edge (<200 nm), which suggests that the new compounds are promising as deep-UV NLO materials.