ferroelectric domains in pure LiNbO₃ and their influence on microhardness

Abstract

LiNbO₃ crystals were grown by Czochralski pulling method. By suitably optimizing the after-heater configuration a crystal to crucible diamter ratio of 64% was achieved. The boules were poled at high temperature for obtaining single domain crystals. Variation of microhardness with applied load was evaluated. Hardness studies on different domains revelaed that the negetive domains have higher microhardness than the positive ones.