Study of the specific features of lithium niobate crystals near the domain walls

The domain walls in LiNbO(3) are studied using X-ray topography, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that the regions of distortions of the crystal lattice near the domain walls of different types are different and have lateral sizes of 100-200 mu m. The character and the magnitude of the distortions are substantially dependent on the method of formation of the domain structure. Under irradiation in a scanning electron microscope, the crystal region up to 25 mu m in width near the tail-to-tail domain walls is charged more slowly and, unlike the head-to-head domain walls, exhibits a dynamic charge image in the secondary-electron regime.