Fast responsive nonvolatile holographic storage in LiNbO3 triply doped with Zr, Fe, and Mn

Iron and manganese doubly doped LiNbO3 (LN:Fe,Mn) has been suggested for nonvolatile photorefractive recording; however, its response time is still of the order of minutes. Here we present results on LiNbO3 triply doped with zirconium, iron, and manganese (LN:Zr,Fe,Mn). The codoping with Zr eliminates undesirable intrinsic traps, which strongly enhances the charge transition speed. The response time of LN: Zr, Fe, Mn for nonvolatile holographic storage shortens to only 0.95 s (wavelength of 532 nm and intensity of 400 mW/cm(2)), and the sensitivity reaches 1.31 cm/J. Thus it seems that we have found an excellent recording medium for practical holographic storage devices. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America