Diffraction efficiency and energy transfer in two-wave mixing experiments with Bi12SiO20 crystals

The diffraction efficiency and energy transfer are investigated in photorefractive Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ crystals (BSO). Dependence on fringe spacing, electric fields, light intensity and rise-time constants are reported. The optimum crystallographic orientation for each effect is determined for vertical polarization of the recording beams. It is shown that beam coupling is a very sensitive phenomenon in BSO crystals where charge transport lengths are equivalent to usual fringe spacings. Experimental results are interpreted on the basis of the nonlinear theory of self-diffraction developed by Kukhtarev et al. [10].     

High-sensitivity read-write volume holographic storage in reduced KNbO3 crystals

Reduced KNbO₃ is a photoconductive ferroelectric in which holograms can be recorded by the photorefractive effect. Read-write volume hologram storage and erase sensitivities ofS ⁻¹=100 J/cm² andS ⁻¹=84 J/cm² (S=d(Δn)/d(I₀t)‖_t=0) have been measured at zero applied electric field, where the charge transport is shown to be due to diffusion of photoexcited electrons. By applying an electric field along thec-axis, the migration length of the photoexcited electrons becomes comparable to the holographic grating spacing. This leads to storage sensitivities comparable to high-resolution photographic plates. Experimental data on storage and erase sensitivity as a function of the grating spacing, applied electric field, writing light intensity and temperature are reported and interpreted on the basis of the theoretical results of Young et al. and Amodei. Changes of the intensity ratio of the writing beams by self diffraction (beam coupling), reflections from surfaces and the residual dark conductivity are assumed to cause experimental results which deviate from the theoretical models. It is shown, that in reduced KNbO₃ and other ferroelectric photoconductors having photocarrier transport lengths much larger than the unit cell dimension, photovoltaic currents do not contribute significantly to the build-up of space-charges leading to the photorefractive effect.     

Degenerate four-wave mixing in photorefractive Bi12GeO20 crystals involving internal reflections

Degenerate four-wave mixing in photorefractive Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ crystals involving internal reflections is studied theoretically and experimentally. Two sets of four-wave mixing exist simultaneously. One set is at the Bragg angle while the other is off the Bragg angle. Theoretical and experimental relations between the wavefront reflectivity and the external incident angle of the reading beam, as well as the reference-to-object beam ratio, are investigated.     

Space charge field limitations in photorefractive LiNbO3:Fe crystals

We use holographic techniques for the investigation of strongly oxidized LiNbO₃:Fe crystals with small Fe²⁺ concentrations and compare the results with theoretical predictions. Experimental evidence is presented for enhanced phase shifts between light intensity pattern and refractive index grating and for limitations of optically induced space charge fields in photovoltaic crystals due to the low concentration of filled traps. Our findings do not support the model of a nonlocal photovoltaic effect in LiNbO₃.     

Beam-coupling in tetragonal potassium Tantalate-Niobate crystals

Beam-coupling is investigated in a nominally pure tetragonal potassium Tantalate-Niobate (KTN) crystal as a function of external electric field, spatial frequency and light wavelength. The variation of these parameters leads to a change of the direction of energy transfer between the two recording beams. The experimental results can be consistently described by a one-center charge-transport model taking into account electron and hole contributions to photoconductivity and space-charge limitations due to the available trap density.     

Absorption gratings in ferroelectric Bi4Ti3O12

4 Ti₃O₁₂. Basic properties of absorption gratings in this crystal are investigated with beam-coupling experiments. Depending on the grating spacing, wavelength, and intensity of the writing beams, an absorption grating in our sample can be either in phase or shifted by 180° with respect to the light pattern. The formation mechanism of absorption grating is discussed and proposed to originate from a shallow-trap effect. Received: 10 February 1997     

Dark conductivity in copper-doped lithium niobate crystals

The impact of protons and copper on the dark conductivity of copper-doped photorefractive lithium niobate crystals is investigated by observation of the dark decay of holograms. The dark conductivity is significantly smaller than that of iron-doped lithium niobate. A non-mono-exponential hologram decay is observed, which needs to be considered for multiplexing of holograms. Received: 25 March 2002 / Published online: 2 May 2002     

Structure and nonvolatile holographic recording of Mg:Ce:Cu:LiNbO3 crystals

A series of Mg:Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystals has been grown by Czochralski method. Their infrared transmittance spectra and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra were measured and discussed to investigate their defect structure. The nonvolatile holographic recording of Mg:Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystals was characterized by the two-photon fixed method. We found that the recording time of Mg:Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystals became shorter and nonvolatile diffraction efficiency decreases with the increase of Mg doping concentration, especially doping with Mg approaches and exceeds the so-called threshold. And the nonvolatility vanishes when the concentration of MgO exceeds 4 mol%. The intrinsic and extrinsic defects were discussed to explain the nonvolatile holographic properties in the Mg:Ce:Cu:LiNbO₃ crystals.     

Magnetophotorefractive effect in Bi12TiO20

The non-Bragg difraction signal from an oscillating holographic grating was used to establish for the first time the effect of a magnetic field on the hologram recorded in the photorefractive crystal of Bi₁₂TiO₂₀. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 2168–2171 (December 1997)     

Photorefractive properties of highly-doped lithium niobate crystals in the visible and near-infrared

Light-induced refractive-index changes, bulk-photovoltaic current densities, and photoconductivities of photorefractive iron-doped lithium niobate crystals (iron concentrations between 0.02 and 0.17 wt. %) are investigated in detail using visible and near-infrared light. It turns out that the one-center model predicts the material performance correctly for small iron concentrations (c_Fe<0.06 wt. % Fe₂O₃), only. A strong increase of the photoconductivity for higher doping levels limits the space-charge fields. Refractive-index changes up to 7×10^-4 for green and 2.8×10^-4 for near-infrared ordinarily polarized light are obtained. The corresponding hologram multiplexing numbers are 11 for green and 5 for near-infrared light. Received: 18 November 1998 / Revised version: 8 January 1999 / Published online: 7 April 1999     

Dielectric relaxation in Bi12SiO20 crystals

Anomalies of the dielectric properties of undoped and aluminum-and gallium-doped crystals of Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ are investigated in the frequency and temperature range ν=10²–10⁸ Hz and T=300–800 K. They are shown to be due to Debye relaxation processes and determined by the relaxor parameters. The mechanism of electron thermal polarization is discussed. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1223–1229 (July 1997)     

Thermal ionization of impurity centers in Fe-doped Bi12SiO20 and Bi12GeO20 crystals

The spectral and temperature dependence of the optical absorption and thermally stimulated depolarization currents in Fe-doped Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ and Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ crystals are investigated in the photon energy range 1.36–3.46 eV and temperature 85–750 K. The results show thermally induced electron redistribution between donor and acceptor levels and defect association-dissociation processes and are discussed using the configuration-coordinate model. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1006–1011 (June 1999)     

Photorefractive centers in LiNbO3, studied by optical-, Mössbauer- and EPR-methods

The photorefractive properties of LiNbO₃∶Fe and LiNbO₃∶Cu have been studied in combination with optical absorption-, Mössbauer- and EPR-measurements. The charge states of Fe in successively reduced LiNbO₃∶Fe have been investigated with respect to the influence on the photorefractive sensitivity and saturation value of the refractive index change. The results of this experiment demonstrate clearly the close correlation between the concentration of Fe²⁺ impurities and the optical absorption band around 2.6 eV in LiNbO₃∶Fe, which is known to give rise to an anisotropic charge transport upon optical excitation. The resulting photocurrents determine the photorefractive sensitivity mainly in the initial state of halographic exposure. With increasing conversion from Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ the photorefractive sensitivity saturates and the saturation value of the refractive index change decreases remarkably. In the case of LiNbO₃∶Cu a similar behaviour of the photorefractive storage parameters after successive reduction treatments has been observed qualitatively. However, in contradiction to LiNbO₃∶Fe the Cu²⁺ centers cannot be related to the photorefractive sensitivity of LiNbO₃∶Cu. These results are discussed with respect to the predictions of two models concerning the microscopic nature of the photorefractive process in doped LiNbO₃.     

The polarizing effect in Bi12GeO20 crystals

The results of the measurement of the d-c electric field effect on the resonant frequency of the longitudinally vibrated bars from Bi₁₂GeO₂₀ crystals parallel to the planes (001) and (111) are given. The polarizing correction terms of the elastic couplings are calculated from the change of the frequency.     

Influence of the polarization direction of two-beam coupling in photorefractive Bi12SiO20: Diffusion regime

Beam coupling effects in an optically active photorefractive crystal of Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ are very much influenced by the polarization direction of the interacting beams. Analytic expressions for the signal amplification in the diffusion regime have been derived for two commonly used crystallographic configurations,G<001> andG<110>,G being the grating vector. It is shown that only the <001> orientation is suitable for signal amplification. The results obtained for the diffusion regime can be applied, as a first approximation, to the more common and more intricate drift regime in which a bias electric field is applied to the crystal to enhance the coupling effect.     

Dielectric relaxation in Bi12SiO20: Cr crystals

A study is reported of the temperature and frequency dependences of the permittivity and losses in Cr-doped Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ crystals at sonic frequencies and in the range 300–800 K. A number of dielectric anomalies and a close-to-linear Cole-Cole diagram have been observed. The results are discussed by invoking the concepts of electron hopping and screening of the induced polarization through the relaxation of local lattice distortions.     

Effect of annealing and Mn doping on the photoluminescence of strontium tartrate crystals

Strontium tartrate crystals (STC) were grown in gel using the single tube diffusion method. Powder XRD and FTIR spectroscopy were used for the characterization of the crystal. The optical band-gap (Eg) of STC is found to be 5.46 eV. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of STC are recorded at different annealing temperature and concentration of dopant Mn. The spectral peaks (λ_em) of strontium tartrate photoluminor lie around 417, 440, 513 and 620 nm with excitation wavelength (λ_exc)=379 nm. The peaks at 417, 513 and 620 nm correspond to transitions ²P_1/2⁰→²S_1/2, ¹D⁰→³P⁰ and ¹S→³P⁰, respectively of Sr. The PL peak observed around 440 nm corresponds to the a⁴D_7/2→a⁶S_5/2 transition of Mn.     

Conductivity and light-induced absorption in BaTiO3

A charge transport model including deep and shallow traps explains both the nonlinear relation between photoconductivity and light intensity and the light-induced absorption in BaTiO₃. A correlation between measurements of photoconductivity and light-induced absorption as a function of temperature yields parameters for the shallow center, among them thermal activation energy and generation rate.     

Intrinsic photorefractive effect of LiNbO3

The photorefractive effect of undoped LiNbO₃ crystals of high purity is studied by means of two-photon excitation of picosecond light pulses. We show that two-photon photorefractive recording is accompanied by characteristic changes of the optical absorption and electron spin resonance spectra due to the formation of color centers. The role of these centers for the photorefractive process in discussed.     

Picosecond photorefractive diffraction in CdTe at 1 μm

Using a ps-transient grating technique the contribution of the ps-photorefractive effect to the first-order probe-beam diffraction signal has been studied in CdTe at 1 m investigating diffraction kinetics at different sample orientations in the thin grating regime. A fast photorefractive grating formation time during the pump pulses and a characteristic decay time of 600 ps, shorter than the free-carrier lifetime, have been observed.