Electrical fixing in near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystals

Abstract

Photorefractive gratings are recorded in lithium niobate crystals in the presence of externally applied electric fields close to the coercive field. After optical erasure a voltage pulse above the poling threshold is applied, and by these means a photorefractive grating reappears that can be erased optically. The results point to electrical fixing, i.e., ferroelectric domain reversal induced by a space-charge field.