Abstract
Glasses in the system (1−
x)TeO
2–
x(1.5K
2O–Li
2O–2.5Nb
2O
5) (0.02⩽
x⩽0.12 in mol fraction) were fabricated via the melt-quenching technique. The glassy nature of the as-quenched samples was established by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Nanocrystalline patterns (rows of crystallites) were created on the surface of these glasses by an excimer laser (
λ=308
nm) irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirmed the nanostructured nature and composition of the crystallites. X-ray diffraction (XRD) combined with transmission electron microscopic (TEM) studies proved the crystalline phase within and on the surface of the glass to be ferroelectric K
3Li
2Nb
5O
15. The second-order optical non-linearity (second harmonic generation, SHG) of the nanocrystallites measured by the Maker–Fringe method showed an improvement after exposing to laser radiation.