Fundamental characteristics of space-charge waves in photorefractive sillenite crystals

摘要

We investigate experimentally the fundamental characteristics of space-charge waves excited in a photorefractive crystal of Bi12SiO20. Features such as their transient rise and decay as well as their steady-state frequency response are investigated. Based on this, we find the dependence of the space-charge waves' quality factor on spatial frequency and electric-field biasing. The experimental findings are compared with the linear space-charge wave theory developed previously by Sturman et al. [J. Opt. Sec. Am. B 10, 1919 (1993)]. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America [S0740-3224(98)02210-3]. [References: 22]