The effect of an optical pump on the absorption coefficient of magnesium-doped near-stoichiometric lithium niobate in terahertz range

The absorption coefficient of magnesium-doped near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystal is measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in a frequency range of 0.2 THz~0.9 THz at room temperature. The absorption coefficient is modulated by external optical pump fields. Experimental results show that the absorption coefficient of near-SLN：Mg crystal is approximately in a range of 22 cm- 1_35 cm- 1 in a frequency range of 0.2 THz-0.9 THz and tunable up to nearly 15%. Further theoretical analysis reveals that the variation of absorption coefficient is related to the number of light-induced carriers, domain reversal process, and OH- absorption in this crystal.     

Improvement of photorefractive properties in Hf:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals with various [Li]/[Nb] ratios

Photorefractive properties of Hf:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals with various [Li]/[Nb] ratios have been investigated at 488 nm wavelength based on the two-wave coupling experiment. High diffraction efficiency and large recording sensitivity are observed and explained. The decrease in Li vacancies is suggested to be the main contributor to the increase in the photoconductivity and subsequently to the induction of the improvement of recording sensitivity. The saturation diffraction efficiency is measured up to 80.2%, and simultaneously the recording sensitivity of 0.91 cm/J is achieved to in the Hf:Fe:LiNbO3 crystal grown from the melt with the [Li]/[Nb] ratio of 1.20, which is significantly enhanced as compared with those of the Hf:Fe:LiNbO3 crystal with the [Li]/[Nb] ratio of 0.94 in melt under the same experimental conditions. Experimental results definitely show that increasing the [Li]/[Nb] ratio in crystal is an effective method for Hf:Fe:LiNbO3 crystal to improve its photorefractive properties.     

Improved nonvolatile holographic storage sensitivity of near-stoichiometric LiNbO3:Fe:Mn crystals

We investigate the nonvolatile holographic storage characteristics of near-stoichiometric LiNbO3 :Fe:Mn crystals with different Li2O contents. Experimental results indicate that the optimal value of Li2O content is about 49.6 mol%. Nonvolatile sensitivity S considerably improved to 0.15 cm/J because of the use of near-stoichiometric LiNbO3 :Fe:Mn with 49.6 mol% Li2O.     

Influences of Mg^2＋ ion on dopant occupancy and upconversion luminescence of Ho^3＋ ion in LiNbO3 crystal

The effects of a Mg^2＋ ion on the dopant occupancy and upconversion luminescence of a Ho^3＋ ion in LiNbO3 crystal are reported. The birefringence gradient of the crystal is measured to investigate the optical homogeneity. The X-ray powder diffraction spectrum and the upconversion luminescence are used to investigate defect structure and spectroscopic properties of Mg,Ho：LiNbO3. Under 808-nm excitation, blue, red, and very intense yellow-green bands are observed. Based on the energy levels of Ho^3＋ in LiNbO3, and the pump intensity dependence of the observed emission, an excitation scheme is presented. The upconversion emission spectra reveal an enhancement of upconversion intensity when the Mg^2＋ ions are introduced into Ho：LiNbO3. The main upconversion mechanism is discussed in this work.     

The dielectric behaviour of doped near-stoichiometric lithium niobate in the terahertz range

The dielectric properties of near-stoichiometric LiNbO 3:Fe and LiNbO₃:Ce single crystals have been investigated using terahertz time domain spectroscopy in a frequency range of 0.7-1.6 THz at room temperature.When coupled with an applied external optical field,obvious photorefractive effects were observed,resulting in a modulation of the complex dielectric constant for the crystals.The variation in refractive index,| n|,had a linear relationship with the applied light intensity,accompanied by a step-like decrease at high intensity.The findings were attributed to the internal space charge field of the photorefraction and the light-induced domain reversal in the crystals.     

Nonvolatile holographic storage in triply doped LiNbO3: Hf, Fe, Mn crystals

It has been suggested to use LiNbO3:Fe,Mn crystal for solving the problem of information volatility during the read-out process with all-optical facilities,but the minute order response time is far from the requirements for the real-time information processing.We present the nonvolatile holographic storage properties of LiNbO3:Hf,Fe,Mn.The response time is shortened to 5.0 s,and the sensitivity S is enhanced to 0.22 cm/J in this triply doped crystal.The experimental results show that the HfO2 doping threshold is 5.0 mol.%.Thus it seems that we have found a useful tetravalent dopant for LiNbO3:Fe,Mn that can obviously improve the nonvolatile holographic recording sensitivity.     

Nonvolatile two-color holographic recording in near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystals gated by incoherent ultraviolet light

Nonvolatile two-color holographic recording gated by incoherent ultraviolet （UV） light centered at 365 nm is investigated in near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystals. The influence of thermal treatment on the two-color recording is studied. The results show that thermal reduction tends to improve the two-color recording performance, whereas thermal oxidation degrades the two-color recording. With an incoherent 0.2-W/cm2 UV gating light and a 0.25-W/cm2 semiconductor recording laser at 780 nm, a two-color recording sensitivity of 4 × 10^-3 cm/J and a recording dynamic range characterized by M/# of 0.12 are achieved in a 2.2-mm thermally reduced near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystal. We attribute the improvement to the prolonged lifetime of small polarons and the increased absorption at the gating wavelength due to thermal reduction.     

Effect of Mg and Fe Doping on Optical Absorption of LiNbO3 Crystal through First Principles Calculations

Using first principles calculations, we investigate the structural, optical, and electronic properties of LiNbO3 （LN） and M doped LN （M=Mg, Fe）. The density of states are calculated to analyze the effect of doping Mg and Fe ions on the absorption spectra and electronic properties of LN. The results show an ultraviolet shift in the optical absorption edge of Mg-doped LN compared with that of intrinsic LN. On the contrary, the absorption edge of Fe-doped LN crystal reveals a red shift. The optical absorption spectra show an improved optical response in the visible range for Mg-doped LN, which significantly differs from that obtained for Fe-doped LN. The electronic excitations from the valence band to the conduction band of LN leads to an improved optical absorption response in the visible region as observed experimentally. The obvious changes of the doped LN crystal are found in some cases, which provide a helpful guide for preparing doped LN crystal.     

Lateral-field-excitation properties of LiNbO3 single crystal

LiNbO 3 has been found attractive for lateral field excitation (LFE) applications due to its high piezoelectric coupling. In this paper, bulk acoustic wave propagation properties for LiNbO 3 single crystal excited by a lateral electric field have been investigated using the extended Christoffel-Bechmann method. It is found that the LFE piezoelectric coupling factor for c mode reaches its maximum value of 95.46% when ψ = 0 for both (yxl)-58 and (yxwl)±60 /58 LiNbO 3 . The acoustic wave phase velocity of c mode TSM (thickness shear mode) changes from 3456 m/s to 3983 m/s as a function of ψ. Here ψ represents the angle between the lateral electric field and the crystallographic X-axis in the substrate major surface. A 5 MHz LFE device of (yxl)-58 LiNbO 3 with ψ = 0 was designed and tested in air. A major resonance peak was observed with the motional resistance as low as 17 and the Q-factor value up to 10353. The test result is well in agreement with the theoretical analysis, and suggests that the LFE LiNbO 3 device can be a good platform for high performance resonator or sensor applications.     

Fast lateral photovoltaic effect in ferroelectric LiNbO_3 single crystals

We report the fast lateral photovoltaic effect in pure congruent LiNbO3 crystal induced by pulsed laser and continuous wave laser with wavelengths of 355, 532, and 1064 nm. A typical ultrafast photovoltage can be observed on the surface perpendicular to the c axis, With the rise time of 1.5 ns and the full-width at half-maximum of 1-2 ns, when the laser pulse inhomogeneously irradiates on the crystal. The peak open-circuit photovoltages show a linear dependence on the incident laser intensities. The mechanism of the photovoltaic characteristics is proposed.