Increased optical-damage resistance in tin-doped lithium niobate.

Applications of lithium niobate in nonlinear optics at high light intensities are seriously hampered by optical damage. Recent investigations have shown that Hf(4+) and Zr(4+) ions have some advantages in suppressing optical damage of LiNbO(3) with respect to Mg(2+). Here we present Sn-doped LiNbO(3) (Sn:LN). Experimental results indicate that Sn:LN has similar optical damage resistance to Mg-doped LiNbO(3), but the doping threshold of Sn is only 2.5 mol.%, where its distribution coefficient is 0.98. Hence Sn(4+) ion turns out to be another good choice for increasing optical damage resistance of LiNbO(3).