Synthesis of Sm3+-doped strontium barium niobate crystals in glass by samarium atom heat processing

New glasses giving the crystallization of Sm3+-doped SrxBa1−xNb2O6 (SBN) ferroelectrics have been developed in the Sm2O3−SrO−BaO−Nb2O5−B2O3 system, and the formation of SBN crystal dots and lines by continuous wave Nd:YAG laser (wavelength:1064 nm, power: 1 W) irradiations, i.e., samarium atom heat processing, has been examined. The formation of Sm3+-doped SBN non-linear optical crystals is confirmed from X-ray diffraction analyses, micro-Raman scattering spectra, second harmonic generations, and photoluminescence spectra. Sm3+-doped SBN crystal dots with the diameters of 20–70 μm and lines with the widths of 20–40 μm are written at the surface of some glasses such as 10Sm2O3·10SrO·10BaO·20Nb2O5·50B2O3 (mol%) by Nd:YAG laser irradiations with the irradiation times of 20–70 s for the dots and with the scanning speeds of 1–5 μm/s for the lines. The present study suggests that the samarium atom heat processing has a potential for the patterning of optical waveguides consisting of ferroelectric SBN crystals in glass substrates.