Alpha Barium Borate (α-BaB₂O₄)

Alpha-BBO Crystal (BaB2O4) is an excellent negative birefringent crystal with high temperature phase transition. It is characterized by a large birefringent coefficient and a wide transmission window ranging from 189nm to 3500nm. The physical, chemical, thermal and optical properties of alpha-BBO crystal are similar to those of beta-BBO; however, the nonlinear optical property of alpha-BBO crystal is vanished due to the centric symmetry within its crystal structure. Because of its high chemical stability and medium hardness, alpha-BBO is easily fabricated into many kinds of optical components.

Due to its unique UV transparency, good mechanical properties and high damage threshold, it is an excellent choice to replace Calcite in many applications such as Glan-Laser, Glan-Taylor, Glan-Thompson Polarizers and other beam displacers, especially in UV and high power operations.