Thermo-mechanical properties of the Ba 2 Ga 8 GeS 16 nonlinear optical crystal

Linear thermal expansion in the 76-310 K range, and nanohardness and Young’s modulus at room temperature are measured for the newly developed quaternary nonlinear optical crystal Ba 2 Ga 8 GeS 16 with hexagonal symmetry, applicable in the mid-IR part of the spectrum. The results reveal quasi-isotropic behavior of all these properties.