Etch frustration in congruent lithium niobate single crystals induced by femtosecond ultraviolet laser irradiation

Abstract

Modification of the chemical etching behaviour of undoped congruent z-cut lithium niobate single crystals is achieved by pre-illumination of the -z face of the crystal with sub-ps ultraviolet laser radiation at 248 nm, at energy fluences below the threshold for ablation. A systematic study of the effect of the energy fluence and total exposure on the etch frustration is presented.