Elemental, Optical, and Time-Domain Terahertz Spectroscopy Studies on Methyl p-Hydroxybenzoate Single Crystal for THz Applications

Organic nonlinear-optical single-crystal methyl p-hydroxybenzoate (MPHB) is one of the potential candidates for use in terahertz applications. The focus of this work is to study the response of MPHB single crystal in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Single-crystal MPHB was grown by the conventional slow evaporation solution growth technique (SEST). The structural confirmation of the title compound was assessed by powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis. The optical bandgap of ingot crystal was calculated using Tauc’s equation based on ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. The photoluminescence emission spectrum revealed a major emission in the blue region corresponding to 457 nm. The dominant color emission for the title compound was assessed by converting the major emission peak to a Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage (CIE) chromaticity diagram, which further confirmed the emission of blue light from the crystal. The dynamics of the photon emission and its decay time for the title compound were studied by time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL). THz-TDS was performed in the range from 0.2 THz to 3.0 THz on the title single crystal to observe its optical absorption behavior in the THz energy range. The variation of the absorption coefficient at terahertz frequencies is also presented herein.