Deep-ultraviolet nonlinear optical (DUV NLO) crystals are the key materials to extend the output range of solid-state lasers to below 200 nm. The only practical material KBe BO F suffers high toxicity through beryllium and strong layered growth. Herein, we propose a beryllium-free material design and synthesis strategy for DUV NLO materials. Introducing the (BO F) , (BO F ) , and (BOF ) groups in borates could break through the fixed 3D B-O network that would produce a larger birefringence without layering and simultaneously keep a short cutoff edge down to DUV. The theoretical and experimental studies on a series of fluorooxoborates confirm this strategy. Li B O F is identified as a DUV NLO material with a large second harmonic generation efficiency (0.9×KDP) and a large predicted birefringence (0.07) without layering. This study provides a feasible way to break down the DUV wall for NLO materials.

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More than 3900 crystalline borates, including borate minerals and synthetic inorganic borates, in addition to a wealth of industrially-important boron-containing glasses, have been discovered and characterized. Of these compounds, 99.9 % contain only the traditional triangular BO3 and tetrahedral BO4 units, which polymerize into superstructural motifs. Herein, a mixed metal K5Ba2(B10O17)2(BO2) with linear BO2 structural units was obtained, pushing the boundaries of structural diversity and providing a direct strategy toward the maximum thresholds of birefringence for optical materials design. 11B solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a ubiquitous tool in the study of glasses and optical materials; here, density functional theory-based NMR crystallography guided the direct characterization of BO2 structural units. The full anisotropic shift and quadrupolar tensors of linear BO2 were extracted from K5Ba2(B10O17)2(BO2) containing BO2, BO3, and BO4 and serve as guides to the identification of this powerful moiety in future and, potentially, previously-characterized borate minerals, ceramics, and glasses.