Real-time dynamic holographic display realized by bismuth and magnesium co-doped lithium niobate

摘要

Particular attention has been given to updatable or dynamic holographic displays in recent years. The absence of ideal recording materials hampered the realization of their commercial applications. A lithium niobate crystal codoped with 1.0mol. % bismuth and 6.0mol. % magnesium has been grown with a diameter of 2-in. A moderately large saturation diffraction efficiency of 26% can be achieved, which corresponds to a refractive index change of 2.45x10(-5). However, the photorefractive response time turns out to be only 13ms, and the photorefractive sensitivity reaches 1.63x10(2)cm/J. This is by a factor of 10(4) larger than the one of congruent lithium niobate. The codoped crystal was used to demonstrate a real-time holographic display with a refresh rate of 30Hz, which is a significant step forward for inorganic crystals in holographic display applications. Band structure calculations indicate that the dopants influence the charge distribution of the oxygen atoms which may be the clue to the origin of their excellent properties.