Bulk piezo-photovoltaic effect in LiNbO3

Abstract The deformations arising in iron-doped lithium niobate crystals (LiNbO3:Fe) under laser illumination were registered by changes in the parameters of X-ray diffraction rocking curves. The piezoelectric deformation as a result of the bulk photovoltaic effect was separated from heating according to the different kinetics of these processes using a set of time-resolved X-ray diffraction techniques. The dependence of the peak shift on the diffraction order confirmed the manifestation of the bulk piezo-photovoltaic effect. Additionally, the measurements of an external electric field influence on the diffraction peaks parameters were carried out as well as the measurements of the electrophysical and bulk photovoltaic characteristics of the crystal.