Hologram Fixing in Photorefractive Crystal

광굴절 결정에서의 홀로그램 Fixing에 관한 연구

Volume holograms recorded in photorefractive materials can find important applications in optical memories and optical computing systems. One problem with a photorefractive hologram is that it gets erased by the readout light. Nondestructive readout can be achieved by hologram fixing, and several fixing methods have been reported. Fixing is accomplished by thermally activated motion of an unknown ionic defect, which neutralizes the electronic space-charge patterns. At room temperature the ionic patterns are stabilized. When the electrons are partially redistributed by light, a net space-charge pattern appears, and tile fixed hologram can be read out. In this paper, theoretical modeling and some experimental results are presented for thermal fixing of volume phase holograms in photorefractive $LiNbO_3$:Fe. Thermal fixing can be done during or after recording and depends on fixing temperature ($100{\sim}200^{\circ}C$ range) and grating length. Fixed Slating can be erased completely at the temperature over $300^{\circ}C$. Theoretical modeling shows weil the compensation of electronic Slating by ionic grating and is in good agreement with experimental results. In experiments the dependence of thermal fixing on temperatures and grating lengths is investigated.