Electric field-assisted erbium doping of LiNbO3 from melt

This paper presents a new approach for LiNbO3 doping with erbium from melt by means of an electric field-assisted process. The doping was done at medium temperature (350 °C), using a two-component reaction melt containing 10 wt.% Er(NO3)3. The electric field-assisted procedure substantially reduced the time needed for erbium incorporation into the LiNbO3 surface. After the 25 min procedure, the amount of the in-diffused erbium was as high as 1.4 at.%.