Shock-induced luminescence from <i>Z</i>-cut lithium niobate

Abstract

Shock-induced luminescence from lithium niobate has been studied in the stress range 1.6–21.0 GPa. Both fast-framing photography and five-channel optical pyrometry were used to observe the luminescence. The framing photography showed that the emission pattern is heterogeneous for stresses just above the dynamic yield point. A further increase of the stress resulted in a pattern which was essentially homogeneous to within the experimental spatial resolution of about 30 μm. Narrowband filters and photomultiplier tubes were used in the optical pyrometry experiments. A broadband spectrum with a peak near 700 nm was observed. A plot of the energy dissipated by the shock versus shock stress correlates very well with a plot of the 700-nm intensity versus shock stress. The mechanism for light emission in lithium niobate appears to be closely related to the dynamic yielding process.