Ukrainian Journal of Physical Optics 

Gradient thermooptical effect in LiNbO₃ crystals 

R. Vlokh, O. Krupych, M. Kostyrko, V. Netolya and I. Trach

This paper is devoted to the studying of the influence of temperature gradient on the refractive indexes of LiNbO₃ crystals. In our experiments, the temperature gradient was created in LiNbO₃ crystals along the crystallophysical axes X and Y. The optical beam was propagated along the Z-axis. The temperature gradient with maximum value dT/dx_k=2.25x10⁴ K/m was induced. The distribution of induced bi-refringence was studied by imaging polarimetry. The components of the third rank tensor that describes the gradient thermooptical effect were calculated using experimental results.

Keywords: gradient thermooptical effect, temperature gradient, lithium niobate, imaging polarimetry

doi 10.3116/16091833/2/3/154/2001

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