The Photovoltaic and Photorefractive Effect in Cubic Zns Crystals

Abstract

Background: In the present work, the photovoltaic and photorefractive effects are discovered and studied and the only nonzero photovoltaic coefficient k_ijk was determined for a cubic ZnS crystal. This coefficient K₁₄ =2∙10^-9A∙cm∙(W)^-1. The coefficients k_ijk exceed the corresponding coefficients in LiNbO3:Fe by more than an order of magnitude.

Objectives: The paper presents the results of a study of the volumetric photovoltaic effect in piezoelectric ZnS crystals belonging to the cubic point group m. The possibility of using photopiezoelectrics in the holographic recording is shown.

Methods: The use of photopiezoelectrics in holographic recording offers advantages. In this case, the recording is carried out by two coherent beams with polarization corresponding to the photovoltaic current. When reconstructing the recorded hologram is achieved by illuminating the crystal with a beam of coherent light of the same wavelength.

Conclusions: However, the polarization of this beam is chosen so that the illumination does not lead to the generation of photovoltaic current. Erasure of the recorded hologram is achieved by uniformly illuminating the surface with a beam of light from the previous polarization.