RF-induced change of optical refractive index in strontium barium niobate

A. A. Savchenkov; A. B. Matsko; V. S. Ilchenko; I. Solomatine; D. Seidel; L. Maleki

doi:10.1117/12.2008511

22 February 2013 RF-induced change of optical refractive index in strontium barium niobate

A. A. Savchenkov, A. B. Matsko, V. S. Ilchenko, I. Solomatine, D. Seidel, L. Maleki

Proceedings Volume 8600, Laser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XV; 86000O (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2008511
Event: SPIE LASE, 2013, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

It is well known that light is able to modify properties of solid state media. Photorefractivity is one of the brightest demonstrations of such an ability. The phenomenon is related to the change of refractive index resulting from light-mediated redistribution of charges within the material.¹ This redistribution is particularly pronounced in a selected class of optical materials. The magnitude of photorefractivity depends on the energy of photons that induce the charge redistribution, and thus is generally not observed with infrared light. In this work we demonstrate experimentally that not only light, but also low power radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation results in a significant modification of the refractive index of strontium barium niobate (SBN), one of the widely used photorefractive material. To our knowledge, the observed effect cannot be explained using existing theories of photorefractivity in bulk material. We expect that the effect originates from the influence of the boundary of the material on the space charge distribution as well as RF field induced pyroelectric effect; however a more detailed study is required to completely unveil the origin of the phenomenon.

Citation Download Citation

A. A. Savchenkov, A. B. Matsko, V. S. Ilchenko, I. Solomatine, D. Seidel, and L. Maleki "RF-induced change of optical refractive index in strontium barium niobate", Proc. SPIE 8600, Laser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XV, 86000O (22 February 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2008511

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