Crystal growth, measurement and modeling of the optical activity of $α$-GeO$_2$. Comparison with $α$-SiO$_2$

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Pena, Alexandra, Felix, Corinne, Menaert, Bertrand, Boulanger, Benoit
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Pena, Alexandra
Felix, Corinne
Menaert, Bertrand
Boulanger, Benoit
author_facet Pena, Alexandra
Felix, Corinne
Menaert, Bertrand
Boulanger, Benoit
contents This work aimed first at growing high quality bulk $α$-GeO$_2$ crystals in their Quartz iso-structural form ($α$-SiO$_2$), using a high temperature flux method. By optimizing the flux composition and the geometry and orientation of the seeds, it has been possible to achieve growth yields up to 90 % leading for the first time to bulk single crystals up to 3.5 cm$^3$. Thanks to the optical quality and size of the obtained crystals, the second step of this study was the measurement of the optical activity of $α$-GeO$_2$ between 0.3 and 2 $μ$m. This gave access to the value of one of the independent components of the gyration tensor (g33) as a function of the wavelength. An $α$-SiO$_2$ slab have been used to validate our methodology. Both crystals show a magnitude of optical activity of 3.4x10$^{-5}$ rad/$μ$m in the near IR range and great variations where the higher values are 3.4x10$^{-3}$ rad/$μ$m and 1.7x10$^{-3}$ rad/$μ$m at 0.3 $μ$m for $α$-GeO$_2$ and $α$-SiO$_2$, respectively. The measurements are perfectly described by an empirical model that we propose and which relies on the macroscopic first-order electrical susceptibility and on the pitch of the structural helix compared to the wavelength of light.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_12496
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Crystal growth, measurement and modeling of the optical activity of $α$-GeO$_2$. Comparison with $α$-SiO$_2$
Pena, Alexandra
Felix, Corinne
Menaert, Bertrand
Boulanger, Benoit
Optics
This work aimed first at growing high quality bulk $α$-GeO$_2$ crystals in their Quartz iso-structural form ($α$-SiO$_2$), using a high temperature flux method. By optimizing the flux composition and the geometry and orientation of the seeds, it has been possible to achieve growth yields up to 90 % leading for the first time to bulk single crystals up to 3.5 cm$^3$. Thanks to the optical quality and size of the obtained crystals, the second step of this study was the measurement of the optical activity of $α$-GeO$_2$ between 0.3 and 2 $μ$m. This gave access to the value of one of the independent components of the gyration tensor (g33) as a function of the wavelength. An $α$-SiO$_2$ slab have been used to validate our methodology. Both crystals show a magnitude of optical activity of 3.4x10$^{-5}$ rad/$μ$m in the near IR range and great variations where the higher values are 3.4x10$^{-3}$ rad/$μ$m and 1.7x10$^{-3}$ rad/$μ$m at 0.3 $μ$m for $α$-GeO$_2$ and $α$-SiO$_2$, respectively. The measurements are perfectly described by an empirical model that we propose and which relies on the macroscopic first-order electrical susceptibility and on the pitch of the structural helix compared to the wavelength of light.
title Crystal growth, measurement and modeling of the optical activity of $α$-GeO$_2$. Comparison with $α$-SiO$_2$
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.12496