Study on the Growth and Photorefractive Properties of In:Fe:Cu:LiNbO3 Crystals

Fe(0.2 mol%):Cu(0.04 mol%):LiNbO3 crystals with different doping concentration of In3+ (0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0mol%) were grown by Czochralski method, and then oxidized and reduced. The infrared transmittance spectra of crystals were measured to investigate the location of doping ion and its threshold concentration. The photorefractive properties of the crystals were tested by two beam coupling experiment. The results showed that the threshold concentration of In ions is 2.0～ 3.0 mol% and In ions take the place of NbL 4i+ to form ( In L2i+) before reaching its threshold concentration, and then the location of normal Nb ions. In the (2.0 mol%):Fe:Cu:LiNbO3 crystal with the oxidation treatment having the highest diffraction efficiency (η = 45.8%), the photo-damage resistance threshold value R of In(3.0 mol%):Fe:Cu:LiNbO3 was 3.67×104 W/cm2 which was two orders of magnitude higher than that of Fe:Cu:LiNbO3 crystal (4.30×102 W/cm2). And the photo-damage resistance ability was enhanced by oxidized treatment. The In(2.0～3.0 mol%):Fe:Cu:LiNbO3 crystals with oxidized treatment have the best photorefractive properties.