Keywords
Abstract
Ferroelectric lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystals with an engineered domain structure have a number of applications in optical systems for generation of multiple laser radiation harmonics, acoustooptics, precision actuators, vibration and magnetic field sensors, including those for high-temperature applications, and prospectively, in non-volatile computer memory. We have studied the effect of charged domain boundary on the formation of induced domain structures in congruent lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystals at the non-polar x-cut. Bi- and polydomain ferroelectric structures containing charged “head-to-head” and “tail-to-tail” type domain boundaries have been formed in the specimens using diffusion annealing in air ambient close to the Curie temperature and infrared annealing in an oxygen free environment. The surface potential near the charged domain wall has been studied using an atomic force microscope (AFM) in Kelvin mode. We have studied surface wedge-shaped induced microscopic domains formed at the charged domain boundary and far from that boundary by applying electric potential to the AFM cantilever which was in contact with the crystal surface.