Etching and Microhardness Studies on Glycine Lithium Sulphate—A Nonlinear Optical Crystal

Single crystals of glycine lithium sulphate were grown from slow evaporation of their saturated solutions at 35 °C. The chemical etching studies were employed on the as-grown faces of these crystals for the first time to know the defect content and two new prospective etchants were developed. Vickers hardness studies were carried out with respect to crystal orientation (0° and 45°) with loads ranging from 10 to 120 g on the as-grown face of these crystals. The hardness value increases with applied load up to 50 g and beyond which attains a saturation value for both the cases. The study also reveals the anisotropy nature of the crystal face. The work hardening index calculated from the Meyer's plot also exhibits anisotropy.