Polymorphism in SmSc3(BO3)4: Crystal structure, luminescent and SHG properties

Abstract Low temperature C2/c and high temperature P321 modifications of SmxSc4-x (BO3)4 solid solutions were grown from LiBO2–LiF flux. These borates have typical luminescence for Sm3+ containing crystals with the two strongest peaks at 602 and 645 nm, which correspond to 4G5∕2 → 6H7∕2, 6H5∕2 electron transitions. In addition, the compounds were characterized by IR and Raman spectroscopy. SHG intensity for trigonal modification was found to be three times higher than that of KDP revealing its high potential for various NLO applications.