Ba₁₀In₆Zn₇S₂₆- nZnS: An Inorganic Composite System with Interface Phase-Matching Tuned for High-Performance Infrared...

Mid- and far-infrared nonlinear optical (MFIR NLO) materials are important in modern laser technologies. However, it is very challenging to develop materials that can achieve a subtle balance between the key requirements, such as large NLO response, high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT), wide IR transparency, and phase-matching. In this work, a new wide IR transparency (0.38-15.3 μm) NLO crystal Ba₁₀In₆Zn₇S₂₆ (SS26) is synthesized. Further, its composite system Ba₁₀In₆Zn₇S₂₆- nZnS is synthesized by eutectic reaction. In particular, Ba₁₀In₆Zn₇S₂₆-14ZnS (SS40) shows excellent balanced NLO performance that includes a large band gap of 3.05 eV, high LIDT (13.3 × AgGaS₂), large second harmonic generation (SHG) response (2.1 × AgGaS₂ at 2050 nm, 5.2 × KDP at 1064 nm), and wide optical transmission window (0.37-15.4 μm). Importantly, the phase-matching condition is realized for SS40 by interfaces formed between the crystal face (112) of matrix SS26 and the crystal face (111) of reinforcement cubic ZnS by topological chemical reaction, and the NLO performance can be tuned by different concentrations of ZnS. First-principles simulations are employed to study NLO properties of SS26 and the interfaces. This work demonstrates that SS40 is a promising MFIR NLO material, and tuning components of the composite material system is a useful way to develop new MFIR NLO materials with excellent comprehensive performance.