A monoclinic semiorganic molecular crystal GUHP for terahertz photonics and optoelectronics

Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 6;11(1):23433. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02862-3.

Abstract

In this paper we describe the properties of the crystal of guanylurea hydrogen phosphate (NH[Formula: see text])[Formula: see text]CNHCO(NH[Formula: see text])H[Formula: see text]PO[Formula: see text] (GUHP) and propose its application in terahertz photonics and optoelectronics. GUHP crystal has a wide window of transparency and a high optical threshold in the visible and NIR spectral regions and narrow absorption bands in the terahertz frequency range. The spectral characteristics of absorption and refraction in the THz range were found to be strongly dependent on crystal temperature and orientation. Computer simulations made it possible to link the nature of the resonant response of the medium at THz frequencies with the molecular structure of the crystal, in particular, with intermolecular hydrogen bonds and the layered structure of the lattice. The possibility of application of the crystal under study for the conversion of femtosecond laser radiation from visible an NIR to terahertz range was demonstrated. It was shown that dispersion properties of the crystal allow the generation of narrow band terahertz radiation, whose spectral properties are determined by conditions close to phase matching. The properties of the generated terahertz radiation under various temperatures suggest the possibility of phonon mechanism of enhancement for nonlinear susceptibility of the second order.