Nano-scale ultraviolet laser-induced ferroelectric surface domains in lithium niobate

In this contribution we are reporting all-optical poling, or direct domain inversion induced by light without an applied electric field, in lithium niobate. Potential advantages of such a technique are the reduction of fabrication steps, removing the need for photolithography, and allowing the domain microstructuring to be directly defined by the illumination pattern alone. This may lead to smaller domain sizes as compared with electric field poling which is currently limited to domain sizes of several micrometers.