Optical characteristics of doped lithium niobate single crystals

Studing of the Raman spectra was established that an optical parameters of oxygen-polyhedral ferroelectric single crystals can be improved by increasing the degree of structural ordering of the cation sublattice along the polar axis by doping them. In this case the impurity ions with the ionic radii close to the radii of the main cations (Li+ and Nb5+) and charges intermediate between those of main cations (1<Z<5) in the area of rather low concentrations were shown to exert an ordering effect on the cation sublattice of a congruent lithium niobate single crystals. Moreover the crystal resistance to laser radiation is also observed to grow. It was determined that the effect of diminishing photorefraction while the crystal is doped correlate well with the discovered ordering of the sublattice along the polar axis and both of them are observed for the same, relatively narrow, range of concentrations and the type of doping impurities.