Ferroelectric domain inversion and its effect on the stability of lithiumniobate thin films on insulator (LNOI) are experimentally characterized. Twosets of specimens with different thicknesses varying from submicron to micronsare selected. For micron thick samples (~28 um), domain structures are achievedby pulsed electric field poling with electrodes patterned via photolithography.No domain structure deterioration has been observed for a month as inspectedusing polarizing optical microscopy and etching. As for submicron (540 nm)films, large-area domain inversion is realized by scanning a biased conductivetip in a piezoelectric force microscope. A graphic processing method is takento evaluate the domain retention. A domain life time of 25.0 h is obtained andpossible mechanisms are discussed. Our study gives a direct reference fordomain structure-related applications of LNOI, including guiding wave nonlinearfrequency conversion, nonlinear wavefront tailoring, electro-optic modulation,and piezoelectric devices.
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