Lithium niobate

Lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) is a compound of niobium, lithium, and oxygen. Its single crystals are an important material for optical waveguides, mobile phones, piezoelectric sensors, optical modulators and various other linear and non-linear optical applications.

Properties

Lithium niobate is a colorless solid insoluble in water. It has a trigonal crystal system, which lacks inversion symmetry and displays ferroelectricity, Pockels effect, piezoelectric effect, photoelasticity and nonlinear optical polarizability. Lithium niobate has negative uniaxial birefringence which depends slightly on the stoichiometry of the crystal and on temperature. It is transparent for wavelengths between 350 and 5200 nanometers.

Lithium niobate can be doped by magnesium oxide, which increases its resistance to optical damage (also known as photorefractive damage) when doped above the optical damage threshold. Other available dopants are Fe, Zn, Hf, Cu, Gd, Er, Y, Mn and B.

Growth

Single crystals of lithium niobate can be grown using the Czochralski process.