Growth of MgO doped LiNbO3 single crystal fibers by a novel drawing down method

MgO-doped LN (LiNbO₃) fibers were automatically grown by an improved drawing down method. The smallest fiber diameter ever attained was 10 μm and the fluctuation in diameter was reduced to ±0.2 μm. The poling process was done during the growth process by the thermal electric effect. The dislocation which was observed in the X-ray topographs of the optical grade bulk crystals did not appear in the fiber. The fibers and optical grade bulk crystals did not have a uniform distribution of the MgO concentration as determined by electron probe micro analysis (EPMA).