Optical absorption issues in CdGeAs2 single crystals

Cadmium germanium diarsenide (CdGeAs2,) crystals are very promising for infrared second harmonic generation. However, their use has been limited by optical absorption in the 5 pm region. The role of composition and dopants has been extensively studied, and some point defects have been identified which do affect transparency. While some low absorption material has been produced, it has not been reproducible and variations within boules have been a serious problem. In this paper, which reviews some recent work on this problem, we describe a surprising and complex correlation between optical transparency, dislocations and point defects.