Open AccessOrigin of light-deflection in lithium niobate and lithium tantalate under electric field
Author(s) -
Laure Guilbert
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.17.010782
Subject(s) - lithium tantalate , lithium niobate , optics , electric field , deflection (physics) , materials science , tantalate , condensed matter physics , physics , ferroelectricity , optoelectronics , dielectric , quantum mechanics
The deflection of light reported by Müller et al. in lithium niobate [Appl. Phys. B 78, 367-370] and lithium tantalate [Appl. Optics 43 (34), 6344-6347] under electric field originates from refraction at domain-walls, like in ferroelastics. In ferroelectrics the optical discontinuity takes place at domain-walls as a consequence of the electro-optic effect. The theoretical deflection angle calculated from Snell's law is proportional to the square root of the electric field and matches the experimental results reported by Müller et al. for lithium niobate. The finite domain-wall thickness mentioned by the authors is not involved in the deflection phenomenon.