Two-wave mixing of ion-implanted photorefractive waveguides in near-stoichiometric Fe:LiNbO3 crystals

We report on the two-wave mixing of light in photorefractive waveguides in H ion-implanted Fe-doped near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystals. For pump light of 632.8 nm wavelength a gain coefficient as high as 15 cm−1 is found. A response time of the order of a few seconds is achieved for micro-watt input powers.

Research highlights
► H implantation forms optical waveguides in Fe doped stoichiometric LiNbO3 crystal.
► Two-wave mixing gain coefficient is 15 cm−1 at 632.8 nm.
► Significant shorter response time than the bulk at very low power is obtained.
► Very good photorefractive features are found in the waveguide.