Anisotropy of the electro-optic effect in magnesium-doped LiNbO3 crystals

Abstract

Specific features of constructing indicatory surfaces of the electro-optic effect (EOE) are described. The generalized case for the symmetry class 3m and all three possible indicatory surfaces under orthogonal experimental conditions, when the directions of light propagation and electric field are orthogonal, is considered. The EOE surfaces are constructed for magnesium-doped lithium niobate crystals. The specific features of anisotropy of these surfaces are discussed and their extreme values and corresponding angular coordinates are found. To construct the indicatory surfaces, all absolute coefficients of the linear electro-optic effect are determined by the interferometric method. The difference in the electro-optic coefficients of pure and magnesiumdoped crystals does not exceed 10%. An advantage of doped crystals is their high durability to high-power laser radiation.