Microstructures in ferroelectric in ferroelectric lithium niobate single crystals

Abstract

The local fluctuating micro- and nano-structures having the properties different from the rest of the single crystal bulk are found to appear around the laser beam trace in a crystal just after irradiation in the visible range. As the time or intensity of irradiation increases, the number of such micro-structures transforming into static micro- and macro-formations grows and they merge into a continuous track along the laser beam. The photo-refraction in stoichiometric single crystals is shown to be strong enough for the recording and storage of information.