Premium
Morphology and etch figures of a Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 crystal
Author(s) -
Zhao Shan Rong,
Meng Jie,
Wang Rong,
Qiu Zhi Hui,
Wang Li Jie
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s002188980901036x
Subject(s) - trigonal crystal system , crystal (programming language) , quartz , crystallography , hexagonal crystal system , crystal structure , prism , morphology (biology) , group (periodic table) , materials science , chemistry , optics , physics , geology , metallurgy , organic chemistry , computer science , programming language , paleontology
Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 is a good self‐frequency‐doubling crystal with the point group 32. In this paper, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to observe the etch figures of the three forms (positive trigonal prism {110}, negative trigonal prism {20} and rhombohedron {101}) on the crystal morphology of Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 . The etch figures display the point group 32 of the Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 crystal. To compare the morphology and etch figures of Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 with those of quartz, the classic crystal of point group 32, the etch figures of the three forms (hexagonal prism {100}, positive rhombohedron {101} and negative rhombohedron {011}) on quartz were also observed using AFM. It is interesting that Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 develops two prismatic forms (related by a positive–negative relationship) and one rhombohedral form, while quartz develops one prismatic form and two rhombohedral forms (also related by a positive–negative relationship). Etch figures of faces or sections with the same indices (or the same crystallographic orientations) in Yb:YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 and quartz are very similar, although their crystal structures are very different. Besides diffraction methods, etch figures are a useful method for determining the point group of a crystal.