Low-temperature thermal fixing of holograms in photorefractive La(3)Ga(5)SiO(14):Pr(3+) crystal

Thermal fixing in a La(3)Ga (5)SiO (14):Pr (3+) photorefractive crystal is demonstrated all the way down to room temperature. This, to our knowledge, is the first report of such an effect in any photorefractive material. From the temperature dependence of the process the activation energy of the carriers involved in the fixing process is measured to be E(A)=0.89 eV . Further, an effective photorefractive charge density of (1.4+/-0.2)x10(16) cm (-3) and Debye screening length of (6.8+/-0.7)x10(-6) cm is measured.