Evaluation of the internal field in lithium niobate ferroelectric domains by an interferometric method

We report on the evaluation of internal electric field of a ferroelectric engineered-domain in a LiNbO3 wafer crystal by detecting optical path length variation with a noninvasive interferometric inspection method. The lithium niobate wafer has been patterned and subjected to electric field poling to obtain two antiparallel ferroelectric domains separated by a single domain wall. The crystal has been mounted into one arm of a Mach-Zehnder-type interferometer to study the phase map and evaluate the effects of domain reversion by a digital holographic technique. Evaluation of the internal field and consequent variation of the electro-optical properties of the different domains is analyzed.