Intrinsic photorefractive centers in LiNbO3:Fe

In LiNbO₃:Fe,Me crystals (Me = K, Mg, Zn) elementary holograms are recorded and erased with frequency-doubled, ordinarily polarized pulses of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. At high light intensities (I > 10⁹ Wm^–2) holographic sensitivities and saturation values of refractive index changes grow with increasing intensity and a contribution to photo-conductivity appears increasing quadratically withI. The intensity-dependent parts of the holographic quantities are diminished by increasing the lithium content of the samples or by doping the crystals with magnesium or zinc. Experimental results can be described by a two-center charge transport model, which is the Fe^2+/3+ model supplemented by shallow traps, namely niobium ions occupying lithium sites.