Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2022
Abstract
LiB3O5 (LBO) crystals are used to generate the second, third, and fourth harmonics of near-infrared solid-state lasers. At high power levels, the material’s performance is adversely affected by nonlinear absorption. We show that as-grown crystals contain oxygen and lithium vacancies. Transient absorption bands are formed when these intrinsic defects serve as traps for “free” electrons and holes created by x rays or by three- and four-photon absorption processes. Trapped electrons introduce a band near 300 nm and trapped holes produce bands in the 500-600 nm region. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is used to identify and characterize the electrons trapped at oxygen vacancies (the unpaired electron is localized on one neighboring boron). Self-trapped holes and lithium vacancies with the hole trapped on an adjacent oxygen are also observed with EPR. At room temperature, we predict that most of the unwanted defect-related ultraviolet absorption created by a short laser pulse will decay with a half-life of 29 µs.
Source Publication
Optical Materials Express
Recommended Citation
Holloway, B. C., Lenyk, C. A., Gustafson, T. D., Giles, N. C., Perlov, D., & Halliburton, L. E. (2022). Oxygen vacancies in LiB 3 O 5 crystals and their role in nonlinear absorption. Optical Materials Express, 12(10), 4155. https://doi.org/10.1364/OME.469756
Comments
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Plain-text title: Oxygen vacancies in LiB3O5 crystals and their role in nonlinear absorption.