Dielectric characterization of the defect concentration in lithium niobate single crystals

Relationship between the dielectric constant and corresponding defect concentration of lithium niobate crystals is studied. An ion polarizability additivity rule of dielectric constants of complex substances and the Li-site vacancy model are employed in the present work. The obtained linear correlation between the dielectric constant and corresponding defect concentration of lithium niobate crystals presents a novel method to quantitatively characterize the optical quality of the obtained single crystals. The working formula and curve for lithium niobate crystal samples give us a quantitative scale to characterize the defect concentration of the obtained lithium niobate single crystals. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.