Structure and optical damage resistance of near-stoichiometric Zn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals

A series of near-stoichiometric Zn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals were grown by the high-temperature top-seed solution growth (HTTSSG) method from stoichiometric melts doped with 6 mol% K2O. Infrared (IR) transmission spectra were measured and discussed in terms of the defect structure of the near-stoichiometric Zn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals. The results of the transmitted beam pattern distortion method show that the optical damage resistance of the near-stoichiometric Zn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals increases rapidly when the ZnO concentration exceeds a threshold value. The threshold value concentration of ZnO of the near-stoichiometric Zn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals is much lower than that of the congruent LiNbO3 crystals. The dependence of the optical damage resistance on the defect structure of the near-stoichiometric Zn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals are discussed, and the holographic recording properties of the near-stoichiometric Zn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals are investigated.