Recent Development of Sn , Sb -based Birefringent Material: Crystal Chemistry and Investigation of Birefringence.

The combination of Sn or Sb with π, non-π-conjugated units has produced birefringent crystals with birefringence ranging from 0.005 to 0.468@1064 nm. It is proven that introducing Sn or Sb into crystals is a feasible strategy to enlarge the birefringence, which not only promotes the miniaturization of fabricated devices, but also effectively modulates polarized light. Herein, recently discovered Sn , Sb -based birefringent crystals with birefringence investigated are summarized, including their crystal structure and optical properties, especially birefringence. This review also presents the influence of Sn , Sb with stereochemically active lone pair on the optical anisotropy. We hope that this work provides a clear perspective on the crystal chemistry of Sn , Sb -based optical functional crystals and promotes the development of new birefringent crystals with large optical anisotropy.