The study of self-erasing phenomenon in reduced Zn:Fe:LiNbO3 crystal

Abstract It is experimentally demonstrated that the self-erasing phenomenon, diffraction efficiency grows gradually to its maximum and then decays a great extent during the recording process, existed in reduced Zn:Fe:LiNbO 3 crystal. To analyze this phenomenon, the absorption spectra were measured by UV–Visible Spectrophotometer in the region of 200–700 nm, and the nonlinear dependence of photoconductivity on light intensity were studied. The cooperative action of the two kinds of carriers and their own shallow or deep traps was considered to explain the self-erasing phenomenon in reduced Zn:Fe:LiNbO 3 crystal.