Abstract: Benzoyl glycine (BG) is a promising organic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal, whose second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency is much higher than that of KDP (potassium dihydrogen phosphate). Single crystals of pure, Cu2+ and Cd2+ doped BG were grown by slow evaporation technique. Optically transparent and defect free single crystals of size up to 10 mm×15 mm×10 mm were harvested in a period of 40–60 days. The growth conditions of pure and doped crystals of BG were optimized and the grown crystals were confirmed by single crystal XRD (X-ray diffraction). The grown crystals were characterized by FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), optical absorption and microhardness studies. The microhardness studies confirm that BG has a moderate VHN (Vickers hardness number) value in comparison to the other organic NLO crystals. The efficiency of frequency doubling was measured for the using Nd:YAG laser and the results were discussed.

Key words: Nonlinear optical crystal, Crystal growth, Doped single crystals, FTIR, VHN