Abstract
Nominally pure congruent LiNbO3 crystal and LiNbO3:ZnO ([ZnO] ~ 5.4–6.4 mol % in the melt) crystals of different genesis are studied using photoinduced light scattering, laser conoscopy, and X-ray diffraction (method of moments). The photorefractive properties and optical and structural uniformity are analyzed. It is found that LiNbO3:ZnO crystals obtained by direct solid phase doping have the best optical and structural uniformity, the lowest photorefractive sensitivity, and a high compositional uniformity along the polar axis. Crystals obtained by homogeneous doping are compositionally uniform, although their optical and structural uniformity is worse than those of LiNbO3:ZnO crystals obtained by direct solid phase doping. Anomalies of conoscopic patterns are caused by the presence of charged structural defects in LiNbO3:ZnO crystals and the distortion of the optical indicatrix induced by mechanical stresses and compositional inhomogeneity of the crystals. High temperature annealing in short-circuited state of LiNbO3:ZnO crystals with high dopant concentration leads to healing of charged defects and improvement of optical characteristics in general. The distribution coefficient for LiNbO3:ZnO crystals obtained by the homogeneous doping method is significantly higher than that for the crystals obtained by the direct solid phase doping method.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Lines, M.E. and Glass, A.M., Principles and Applications of Ferroelectrics and Related Materials, Oxford: Clarendon, 1977.
Kuz’minov, Yu.S., Niobat i tantalat litiya – materialy dlya nelineinoi optiki (Lithium Niobate and Tantalate are the Materials for Nonlinear Optics), Moscow: Nauka, 1975.
Gurzadyan, G.G., Dmitriev, V.G., and Nikogosyan, D.N., Nelineino-opticheskie kristally. Svoistva i primenenie v kvantovoi electronike (Nonlinear Optical Crystals: Properties and Applications in Quantum Electronics), Moscow: Radio i Svyaz’, 1991.
Gunter, P. and Huidnard, J.-P., Photorefractive Materials and Their Applications, Berlin: Springer, 2006–2007, vols. 1–2.
Sidorov, N.V., Volk, T.R., Mavrin, B.N., and Kalinnikov, V.T., Niobat litiya: defekty, fotorefraktsiya, kolebatel’nyi spectr, polaritony (Lithium Niobate: Defects, Photorefraction, Vibrational Spectra, and Polaritons), Moscow: Nauka, 2003.
Volk, T. and Wöhlecke, M., Lithium Niobate: Defects, Photorefraction and Ferroelectric Switching, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2008.
Abdi, F., Aillerie, M., Fontana, M., Bourson, P., Volk, T., Maximov, B., Sulyanov, S., Rubinina, N., and Wöhlecke, M., Influence of Zn doping on electro optical properties and structure parameters of lithium niobate crystals, Appl. Phys. B, 1999, no. 68, pp. 795–799.
Voskresenskii, V.M., Starodub, O.R., Sidorov, N.V., and Palatnikov, M.N., Investigation of the cluster formation in lithium niobate crystals by computer modeling method, Crystallogr. Rep., 2017, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 205–209.
Palatnikov, M.N., Sandler, V.A., Sidorov, N.V., and Makarova, O.V., Anomalous dielectric and piezoelectric properties and electrical conductivity of heavily doped LiNbO3:Zn crystals, Inorg. Mater., 2016, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 147–152.
Masloboeva, S.M., Palatnikov, M.N., Arutyunyan, L.G., and Ivanenko, D.I., Methods for producing doped lithium niobate charge for growth of single crystals, Izv. S.-Peterb. Gos. Tekh. Univ., 2017, no. 38 (64), pp. 34–43.
Maksimenko, V.A., Syui, A.V., and Karpets, Yu.M., Photoindutsirovannye protsessy v kristallakh niobata litiya (Photoinduced Processes in Lithium Niobate Crystals), Moscow: Fizmatlit, 2008.
Pikul’, O.Yu., Kulikova, G.V., and Stroganov, V.I., Transformation of conoscope pictures of crystal with a change in the optical observation system, Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved., Priborostr., 2013, no. 1, pp. 55–58.
Pikul’, O.Yu., Alekseeva, L.V., Povkh, I.V., Stroganov, V.I., Rudoi, K.A., Tolstov, E.V., and Krishtop, V.V., Particularities of optical system for obtaining of conoscope pictures of big size, Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved., Priborostr., 2004, no. 12, pp. 53–55.
Rusakov, A.A., Rentgenografiya metallov (Metal Radiography), Moscow: Atomizdat, 1977.
Fingerland, A., Method of moments in analysis of X-ray diffraction lines, Czech. J. Phys., 1960, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 233–239.
Mitra, G.B., Theoretical model of diffraction line profiles as combinations of Gaussian and Cauchy distributions, J. Cryst. Process Technol., 2014, vol. 4, pp. 145–155.
Sidorov, N.V., Pikoul, O.Yu., Kruk, A.A., Teplyakova, N.A., Yanichev, A.A., and Palatnikov, M.N., Complex investigations of structural and optical homogeneities of low-photorefractivity lithium niobate crystals by the conoscopy and photoinduced and Raman light scattering methods, Opt. Spectrosc., 2015, vol. 118, no. 2, pp. 259–268.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated by V. A. Alekseev
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Palatnikov, M.N., Sidorov, N.V., Kadetova, A. et al. Investigation of Structural and Optical Homogeneity of LiNbO3:ZnO Crystals of Different Genesis. Inorg. Mater. Appl. Res. 11, 320–329 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S207511332002029X
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S207511332002029X