Structural and hardness of nonlinear optical L-alanine single crystals

Single crystals of pure and Deuterated L-alanine have been grown by both slow cooling and seed rotation techniques. The grown nonlinear optical crystals were subjected to single crystal X-ray diffraction for determining its lattice parameters and morphology. Thermal expansion measurements were carried for the Deuterated crystals of L-alanine using thermomechanical analyzer in order to ascertain the strain tensors along the three mutually perpendicular crystallographic directions. Microhardness study was also undergone on deuterated L-alanine single crystals on a prominent plane for determining the mechanical strength of the grown crystals. The results have been discussed in detail.