Kinetics of light-induced polaron- and VIS-centers in SBN:Ce single crystals at low temperature

Abstract

The promising photorefractive crystal SrxBa1-xNb 2O6 (SBN, congruent composition x=0.61) can be doped with polyvalent ions like Ce to enhance photorefractive properties. Illumination with blue Ar+-laser light at low temperature creates light-induced NIR and VIS absorption bands. The NIR absorption has been identified as being due to Nb4+ electron polarons and their properties have been investigated in some detail. The VIS-Centers are less well understood and their nature is still under discussion. It has been shown by our previous measurements that illumination with red Kr+-laser light (647 nm) or red laser diodes (673 nm) leads to a dissociation of the VIS-Centers and a simultaneous build-up of a transient NIR-polaron absorption. We report here some new facts important for the simplified charge transfer model needed to describe quantitatively the equilibrium values and the dynamics of the NIR-polaron and VIS-center absorption. These features give new insight into the dynamic nature of these VIS-centers, which are currently being discussed as either bipolarons (in analogy to LiNbO3) or polarons trapped at charged centers, or charge transfer vibronic exitons (CTVEs) being trapped at charged centers. © 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.