Lithium Niobate

The book presents the current state of studies of point defects, both intrinsic and extrinsic (impurities, radiation centers, etc.), in LiNbO₃. The contribution of intrinsic defects to photoinduced charge transport, i.e. to the photorefraction, is explained. The photorefractive and optical properties of LiNbO₃ crystals with different stoichiometry and of those doped with so-called "optical-damage resistant" impurities controlling the intrinsic defect structure are described in detail. Applications included are to the problem of non-erasable recording of photorefractive holograms in LiNbO₃ and the current situation of studies in the ferroelectric switching and domain structure of LiNbO_3, as well as the creation of periodically-poled structures for the optical frequency conversion.