The Cation Sublattice Ordering in the Ferroelectric LiNbO3:Zn Single Crystals

It has been revealed for the first time by Raman spectroscopy that in LiNbO3:Zn crystal with Zn2+ concentration range 0.03–0.94 mol.% the ordering of the main doping cations and vacant octahedrons along the polar axis is better than in the undoped crystal of congruent composition. Thus, the configuration of oxygen octahedrons is closer to ideal. The line widths of the Raman spectra in this concentration range are narrower than in congruent LiNbO3 crystals and closer to the line width in stoichiometric crystals with the best known cation ordering. As far as Zn2+ concentration is small, the growth technique changes very slightly compared to the growth of the pure LiNbO3 crystals.