LN for EO

With its large electro-optic coefficients, wide optical transparency window, and availability of high optical quality crystals, LN (lithium niobate) crystal is often the material of choice for optical modulation and Q-switch at near-infrared and infrared wavelengths. For electro-optic modulators (EOM) the crystal can be z-cut with zero residual birefringence along the direction of light propagation or x-cut with non-zero residual birefringence and the maximized effective electro-optic coefficient. For Q-switch the crystal is typically z-cut with zero residual birefringence and an electric field is applied transverse to the direction of light propagation. The piezoelectric ringing in LN is a disadvantage at high repetition frequency, but can be overcome to some extent with proper piezoelectrically damped designs.

Both pure LN and MgO doped LN (MgO:LN) crystals with gold coatings on side faces for electrodes are available from Newlight Photonics.

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Part No.	Description	Application	Material	Wavelength	Bandwidth	Size	Aperture	Thickness	Length	Angle	Doping	Orientation	Displacement	Retardation	Delay	Coating	End cut	Holder	Price	Availability	Add to Cart

Basic Properties of pure LiNbO₃:

Crystal Structure	Trigonal, Space group R3C, Point group 3m
Cell Parameters	a=5.148 Å , c=13.863 Å
Melting Point	1253^oC
Curie Temperature	1140^oC
Mohs Hardness	5
Density:	4.64 g/cm³
Specific Heat:	0.59 J/g/K
Optical Homogeneity	~ 5x10^-5/cm
Transparency Range	420 -- 5200 nm
Absorption Coefficient	~0.1% /cm @ 1064 nm
Refractive indices at 1064 nm (Pure LN)	n_e= 2.146, no = 2.220 @ 1300 nm n_e = 2.156, no = 2.232 @ 1064 nm n_e = 2.203, no = 2.286 @ 632.8 nm
Thermal Expansion Coefficient (@ 25 ^oC)	//a, 2.0x10^-6/K
Thermal Expansion Coefficient (@ 25 ^oC)	//c, 16.7x10^-6/K
Thermal Conductivity:	~ 5 W/m/K at 25^oC
Thermal Optical Coefficient	dn_o/dT=-0.874x10^-6/K at 1.4 µm dn_e/dT=39.073x10^-6/K at 1.4 µm
The Sellmeier equations (Pure LN)) (λ in µm)	n_o² = 4.9048+0.11768/(λ²-0.04750)-0.027169λ² n_e² = 4.5820+0.099169/(λ²-0.04443)-0.021950λ²

Nonlinear Optical Properties:

NLO Coefficients (x//m)	d11 = -d12 = -d26 = 2.6 pm/V d31 = d32 = d24 = d15 =4.6 pm/V d33 = 25 pm/V
Electro-Optic Coefficients (x//m)	γT11 = 6.8 pm/V, γs11 = 3.4 pm/V γT13 = 10 pm/V, γs13 = 8.6 pm/V γT33 = 32 pm/V, γs33 = 31 pm/V
Photorefractive Damage Threshold	50 MW/cm² (10 ns, 1064 nm)
Surface Damage Threshold	300 MW/cm² (10 ns, 1064 nm)

MgO doped LiNbO₃ (MgO:LN) has similar linear and nonlinear optical properties to pure LiNbO3, but the photorefractive damage threshold is much higher.

The Sellmeier equations of MgO:LN are:

MgO dopant 5 mol%

n_o² = 4.9017+0.112280/(λ²-0.049656)-0.039636λ²
n_e² = 4.5583+0.091806/(λ²-0.048086)-0.032068λ²

MgO dopant 7 mol%

n_o² = 4.8762+0.11554/(λ²-0.04674)-0.033119λ²
n_e² = 4.5469+0.094779/(λ²-0.04439)-0.026721λ²

Specifications of LN EO components:

Wavefront Distortion:	Less than λ/8 @ 633 nm
Dimension Tolerance:	(W+/-0.1 mm) x (H+/-0.1 mm) x (L+0.5/-0.1 mm)
Clear Aperture:	> 90% central area
Flatness:	λ/8 @ 633 nm
Surface Quality:	Scratch/Dig 10/5 per MIL-O-13830A
Parallelism:	better than 20 arc seconds
Perpendicularity:	5 arc minutes
Angle Tolerance:	Δθ < 0.5o, Δφ < 0.5o

Orientations:

Optical modulation: z-cut crystal with the two X side faces Au coated,
or, x-cut crystal with the two Z side faces Au coated.

Q-Switch: z-cut crystal with the two X side faces Au coated.

Coatings:

Uncoated crystals or crystals with high quality AR coatings are available upon request.

AR Coatings: R < 0.3% at the central wavelength,
Broadband AR: R < 1% over the specified range.

Half Wavelength Voltages for Q-Switch:

Part No.	Description	V_π (kV)
EOL9250Z-AR1064	LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 9x9x25 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	2.7
EOL6250Z-AR1064	LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 6x6x25 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	1.8
EOL3100Z-AR1064	LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 3x3x10 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	2.3
EOL3200Z-AR1064	LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 3x3x20 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	1.2
EOL3300Z-AR1064	LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 3x3x30 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	0.8
EOL3100Z-AR1550	LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 3x3x10 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1550 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	3.4
EOML9250Z-AR1064	MgO:LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 9x9x25 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	2.7
EOML6250Z-AR1064	MgO:LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 6x6x25 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	1.8
EOML3100Z-AR1064	MgO:LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 3x3x10 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	2.3
EOML3200Z-AR1064	MgO:LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 3x3x20 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	1.2
EOML3300Z-AR1064	MgO:LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 3x3x30 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1064 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	0.8
EOML3100Z-AR1550	MgO:LN crystal for E-O application, z-cut, size 3x3x10 mm, z-faces AR coated @ 1550 nm, x-faces Au coated for electrodes	3.4

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