LiIO3/SiO2 nanocomposite for quadratic non-linear optical applications

The present paper presents our work consisting of `doping' SiO2 sol–gel matrices with 5–30% mass of LiIO3 nanocrystals. Indeed, bulk α-LiIO3 is known to be very efficient for second harmonic generation (SHG). Bulk nanocomposite samples have been first studied showing nanocrystallites with size ranging from 50 to 400 nm and SHG. Then dip and spin coating methods have been used to build thin layers. Being given that LiIO3 crystals present structurally a strong dipolar moment, non-linear optical (NLO) properties may be enhanced using Corona discharges to orientate nanocrystals. This paper relates the fabrication process and the structural and optical characterizations of bulk and thin layer material.