Investigation on structure and photorefractive properties of Mg:Ce:Cu:LiNbO3 crystals with various [Li]/[Nb] ratios

Mg:Ce:Cu:LiNbO3 crystals with various [Li]/[Nb] ratios were grown by the Czochralski method from melts having compositions varying between 48.6 and 58.3 mol% Li2O. The crystal composition and defect structure were analyzed by the ICP-OE/MS, XRD and IR spectrum. The photorefractive properties of the Mg:Ce:Cu:LiNbO3 crystals were experimentally studied by using the two-wave coupling method. The results of the two-wave coupling experiments showed that as the [Li]/[Nb] ratio increased, the writing time and the erasure time were shortened, the diffraction efficiency decreased.