Growth of stoichiometric LiNbO3 single crystals by top seeded solution growth method

Polgár, K.; Péter, Á.; Kovács, László; Corradi, G.; Szaller, Zs.

doi:10.1016/s0022-0248(96)01098-6

Cited by 220 publications

(163 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…To obtain pure stoichiometric crystals, Kitamura et al 13 also used an alkali additive, i.e., Li by applying the continuous filling double crucible method, thereby again preparing bulk crystals in the Li 2 O-Nb 2 O 5 binary system from extremely Li-rich melt (58% Li 2 O) similarly to the early attempts of Peterson 1 and Carruthers et al 2 Later, by using starting melts with K 2 O added in concentrations from 10 to 16 mol. %, Polg ar et al 14 showed that the high temperature top-seeded solution growth technique was an effective method for growing stoichiometric LiNbO 3 single crystals.…”

Section: Growth Of Stoichiometric Linbo 3 a Early Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the demand for pure and doped bulk stoichiometric LiNbO 3 (sLN) crystals kept increasing, efforts became concentrated on the development of crystal growth techniques, such as the continuous filling double crucible growth 13 and the high temperature top seeded solution growth (HTTSSG). 14 Technological advances in the growth of large stoichiometric crystals led to a breakthrough in defect engineering of pure and ODR-ion doped sLN crystals promoting, e.g., the development of quasi-phase-matched frequency conversion applications using periodically poled LN (PPLN) crystals 15 and also the advent of new devices for the generation of high energy THz pulses. 16 The present review starts with a history of solution grown LN crystals describing recent progress in the understanding and control of their chemical and structural inhomogeneities.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Growth, defect structure, and THz application of stoichiometric lithium niobate

Lengyel

Péter

Kovács

et al. 2015

Applied Physics Reviews

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105

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Owing to the extraordinary richness of its physical properties, congruent lithium niobate has attracted multidecade-long interest both for fundamental science and applications. The combination of ferro-, pyro-, and piezoelectric properties with large electro-optic, acousto-optic, and photoelastic coefficients as well as the strong photorefractive and photovoltaic effects offers a great potential for applications in modern optics. To provide powerful optical components in high energy laser applications, tailoring of key material parameters, especially stoichiometry, is required. This paper reviews the state of the art of growing large stoichiometric LiNbO 3 (sLN) crystals, in particular, the defect engineering of pure and doped sLN with emphasis on optical damage resistant (ODR) dopants (e.g., Mg, Zn, In, Sc, Hf, Zr, Sn). The discussion is focused on crystals grown by the high temperature top seeded solution growth (HTTSSG) technique using alkali oxide fluxing agents. Based on high-temperature phase equilibria studies of the Li 2 O-Nb 2 O 5 -X 2 O ternary systems (X ¼ Na, K, Rb, Cs), the impact of alkali homologue additives on the stoichiometry of the lithium niobate phase will be analyzed, together with a summary of the ultraviolet, infrared, and far-infrared absorption spectroscopic methods developed to characterize the composition of the crystals. It will be shown that using HTTSSG from K 2 O containing flux, crystals closest to the stoichiometric composition can be grown characterized by a UV-edge position of at about 302 nm and a single narrow hydroxyl band in the IR with a linewidth of less than 3 cm À1 at 300 K. The threshold concentrations for ODR dopants depend on crystal stoichiometry and the valence of the dopants; Raman spectra, hydroxyl vibration spectra, and Z-scan measurements prove to be useful to distinguish crystals below and above the photorefractive threshold. Crystals just above the threshold are preferred for most nonlinear optical applications apart holography and have the additional advantage to minimize the absorption even in the far-infrared (THz) range. The review also provides a discussion on the progress made in the characterization of non-stoichiometry related intrinsic and extrinsic defect structures in doped LN crystals, with emphasis on ODR-ion-doped and/or closely stoichiometric systems, based on both spectroscopic measurements and theoretical modelling, including the results of first principles quantum mechanical calculations on hydroxyl defects. It will also be shown that new perspective applications, e.g., the generation of high energy THz pulses with energies on the tens-of-mJ scale, are feasible with ODR-doped sLN crystals if optimal conditions, including the contact grating technique, are applied. V C 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

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Section: Growth Of Stoichiometric Linbo 3 a Early Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth, defect structure, and THz application of stoichiometric lithium niobate

Lengyel

Péter

Kovács

et al. 2015

Applied Physics Reviews

Self Cite

105

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“…Er 3+ , Yb 3+ or Nd 3+ doped sLN crystals were grown by the high-temperature top-seeded solution growth (HTTSSG) method [3], using a computer controlled resistance heated crystal growth apparatus from flux containing Nb 2 O 5 ] between 0.001-0.02; therefore, the amount of RE oxides in the flux was between 0.04 and 0.87 mol%, with the upper limit well above the expected threshold concentrations for trivalent ODR ions in sLN. Nb 2 O 5 Starck LN grade, Li 2 CO 3 Alfa Puratronic, K 2 CO 3 Merck p.a.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nb 2 O 5 Starck LN grade, Li 2 CO 3 Alfa Puratronic, K 2 CO 3 Merck p.a. and RE 2 O 3 Alfa Puratronic were used as raw materials.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The OH − stretching vibration frequency and the shape of the corresponding absorption band significantly depend on the ion's surroundings. This fact has allowed for a long series of defect studies: the compositional changes in the crystal (Li/Nb ratio) [3], the changed incorporation of a number of dopants above a threshold concentration [4], and quite recently the trapping of polarons in the OH − ion's immediate vicinity [5] were able to be investigated in considerable detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lattice Site of Rare-Earth Ions in Stoichiometric Lithium Niobate Probed by OH− Vibrational Spectroscopy

et al. 2017

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Rare-earth (RE = Er 3+ , Nd 3+ , or Yb 3+ ) ion-doped stoichiometric LiNbO 3 crystals were grown by the Czochralski and the high-temperature top-seeded solution growth methods. For the 0.22-0.87 mol% concentration range of the RE oxides in the melt/solution, in addition to the well-known hydroxyl (OH − ) vibrational band in undoped stoichiometric LiNbO 3 , a new infrared absorption band was observed at about 3500 cm −1 , similar to the case of the trivalent optical damage resistant (ODR) dopants In 3+ and Sc 3+ . By comparing the frequencies and polarization dependences of the bands to those detected for ODR ion containing crystals, they are attributed to the stretching vibration of OH − ions in RE 3+ Nb -OH − complexes. Consequently, above a given concentration threshold, some of the rare-earth ions are assumed to occupy niobium sites in the LiNbO 3 lattice. The same model is also suggested for RE-doped congruent LiNbO 3 crystals containing over-threshold (>5 mol %) amounts of the Mg-co-dopant.

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