Effect of inhomogeneity on the formation of regular domain structures in LiNbO3 crystal

The conditions necessary for the formation of regular domain structures in lithium niobate crystals used for quasi-synchronous non-linear optical transformations of laser radiation have been considered. The analysis of the mechanism and the kinetics of domain formation during thermoelectric repolarization showed that the true thickness of domain boundaries characterized by the combination of the faces of some simple forms of a crystal depends on both angles between the directions of the vectors of the temperature gradient and the spontaneous-polarization and on the homogeneity of the initial crystal.