Domain Reversal Characteristics of Near-Stoichiometric LiNbO₃ Crystals

The domain reversal characteristics of near-stoichiometric LiNbO₃(Li/Li+Nb=0.496) single crystals, which are grown by the Czochralski method with K₂O flux, are investigated. The switch field for 180^o ferroelectric domain reversal in the near-stoichiometric LiNbO₃ crystal is 8.0±0.5kV/mm, which is only one third of the switching field required for the congruent LiNbO₃ crystals. We have successfully achieved 180^o domain reversal in near-stoichiometric LiNbO₃ samples of 1.0 mm thickness.