Lithium niobate 1

Lithium niobate
Lithium niobate
[[Image:Linbo3 Unit Cell.png ]]

Identifiers

CAS number [1]

12031-63-9  

PubChem [2]
16211717

ChemSpider [3]
10605804  

Properties

Molecular formula LiNbO3

Molar mass 147.846 g/mol

Appearance colorless solid

Density 3 [4]
4.65 g/cm

Melting point [4]

1257 °C

Solubility in water None

Band gap 4 eV

Refractive index (nD) [5]

no 2.30, ne 2.21

Structure

Crystal structure trigonal

Space group 3m (C3v)

Hazards

EU Index Not listed

[6]
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Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)

Infobox references

Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) is a compound of niobium, lithium, and oxygen. Its single crystals are an important
material for optical waveguides, mobile phones, optical modulators and various other linear and non-linear optical
applications.
Lithium niobate 2

Properties
Lithium niobate is a colorless solid insoluble in water. It has 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.[7]

Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles of lithium niobate and niobium pentoxide can be produced at low temperature. The complete protocol
implies a LiH induced reduction of NbCl5 followed by in situ spontaneous oxidation into low-valence niobium
nano-oxides. These niobium oxides are exposed to air atmosphere resulting in pure Nb2O5. Finally, the stable Nb2O5
is converted into lithium niobate LiNbO3 nanoparticles during the controlled hydrolysis of the LiH excess.[8]
Spherical nanoparticles of lithium niobate with a diameter of approximately 10 nm can be prepared by impregnating
a mesoporous silica matrix with a mixture of an aqueous solution of LiNO3 and NH4NbO(C2O4)2 followed by 10
min heating in an IR furnace. [9]

Applications
Lithium niobate is used extensively in the telecoms market, e.g. in mobile telephones and optical modulators. It is
the material of choice for the manufacture of surface acoustic wave devices. For some uses it can be replaced by
lithium tantalate, LiTaO3. Other uses are in laser frequency doubling, nonlinear optics, Pockels cells, optical
parametric oscillators, Q-switching devices for lasers, other acousto-optic devices, optical switches for gigahertz
frequencies, etc. It is an excellent material for manufacture of optical waveguides.

Periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN)

Periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) is a domain-engineered lithium niobate crystal, used mainly for
achieving quasi-phase-matching in nonlinear optics. The ferroelectric domains point alternatively to the +c and the
-c direction, with a period of typically between 5 and 35 µm. The shorter periods of this range are used for second
harmonic generation, while the longer ones for optical parametric oscillation. Periodic poling can be achieved by
electrical poling with periodically structured electrode. Controlled heating of the crystal can be used to fine-tune
phase matching in the medium due to a slight variation of the dispersion with temperature.
Periodic poling uses the largest value of lithium niobate's nonlinear tensor, d33= 27 pm/V. Quasi-phase matching
gives maximum efficiencies that are 2/π (64%) of the full d33, about 17 pm/V
Other materials used for periodic poling are wide band gap inorganic crystals like KTP (resulting in periodically
poled KTP, PPKTP), lithium tantalate, and some organic materials.
The periodic poling technique can also be used to form surface nanostructures.[10] [11]
However, due to its low photorefractive damage threshold, PPLN only finds limited applications: at very low power
levels. MgO doped lithium niobate is fabricated by periodically poled method. Periodically poled MgO doped
lithium niobate (PPMgOLN) therefore expands the application to medium power level.
Lithium niobate 3

Sellmeier equations
The Sellmeier equations for the extraordinary index are used to find the poling period and approximate temperature
for quasi-phase matching. Jundt[12] gives

valid from 20-250 °C for wavelengths from 0.4 to 5 micrometers, whereas for longer wavelength,[13]

which is valid for T = 25 to 180 °C, for wavelengths λ between 2.8 and 4.8 micrometers.
In these equations f = (T-24.5)(T+570.82), λ is in micrometers, and T is in °C.

References
[1] http:/ / www. commonchemistry. org/ ChemicalDetail. aspx?ref=12031-63-9
[2] http:/ / pubchem. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/ summary/ summary. cgi?cid=16211717
[3] http:/ / www. chemspider. com/ 10605804
[4] Spec sheet (http:/ / www. crystaltechnology. com/ docs/ LN_LTAppNote. pdf) of Crystal Technology, Inc.
[5] "Luxpop" (http:/ / www. luxpop. com). . Retrieved June 18, 2010. (Value at nD=589.2 nm, 25 °C.)
[6] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ %3Alithium_niobate?diff=cur& oldid=402204370
[7] Volk, Tatyana; Wohlecke, Manfred (2008). Lithium Niobate: Defects, Photorefraction and Ferroelectric Switching. Springer. pp. 1–9.
doi:10.1007/978-3-540-70766-0. ISBN 9783540707653.
[8] Aufray M, Menuel S, Fort Y, Eschbach J, Rouxel D, Vincent B (2009). "New Synthesis of Nanosized Niobium Oxides and Lithium Niobate
Particles and Their Characterization by XPS Analysis". Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology 9 (8): 4780–4789.
doi:10.1166/jnn.2009.1087.
[9] Grigas, A; Kaskel, S (2011). "Synthesis of LiNbO3 nanoparticles in a mesoporous matrix". Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology 2: 28–33.
doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.3.
[10] S. Grilli; P. Ferraro, P. De Natale, B. Tiribilli, and M. Vassalli (2005). "Surface nanoscale periodic structures in congruent lithium niobate
by domain reversal patterning and differential etching". Applied Physics Letters 87: 233106. doi:10.1063/1.2137877.
[11] P. Ferraro; S. Grilli (2006). "Modulating the thickness of the resist pattern for controlling size and depth of submicron reversed domains in
lithium niobate". Applied Physics Letters 89: 133111. doi:10.1063/1.2357928.
[12] Dieter H. Jundt (1997). "Temperature-dependent Sellmeier equation for the index of refraction in congruent lithium niobate". Optics
Letters 22 (20): 1553. doi:10.1364/OL.22.001553. PMID 18188296.
[13] LH Deng et al. (2006). "Improvement to Sellmeier equation for periodically poled LiNbO crystal using mid-infrared difference-frequency
generation". Optics Communications 268: 110. doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2006.06.082.

Further reading
• Ferraro, Pietro; Grilli, Simonetta; De Natale, Paolo, eds. Ferroelectric Crystals for Photonic Applications
Including Nanoscale Fabrication and Characterization Techniques (http://www.springer.com/materials/book/
978-3-540-77963-6). Springer Series in Materials Science. 91. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-77965-0.

External links
• Inrad data sheet on lithium niobate (http://www.inrad.com/pdf/Inrad_datasheet_LNB.pdf)
Article Sources and Contributors 4

Article Sources and Contributors

Lithium niobate  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=409972093  Contributors: Ahellwig, Beetstra, Calvero JP, Chem-awb, Danh, Dmmaus, Draicone, Droll, Engineer Bob, Gene
Nygaard, Kar.ma, Materialscientist, Mghansen256, Mipah, Mrba70, Ms2ger, NuclearWinner, Numbo3, Rwestafer, RyanJones, Sbyrnes321, Shaddack, Srleffler, Stone, Supersquishies,
Themfromspace, Thricecube, Weihao.chiu, Whosasking, Wiher, 30 anonymous edits

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