Mg, Fe co-doped near-stoichiometric lithium tantalite (SLT) single crystals were grown by employing the zone-leveling Czochralski (ZLCz) technique. The optical properties, holographic parameters, as well as the composition of the grown crystals were measured. It was found that the Li/Ta ratio decreased with the doping of Mg and Fe ions. A red shift was observed in absorption spectrum for the Mg, Fe co-doped crystals compared to the undoped and Mg-doped ones. The effect of the iron ions (Fe2+ and Fe3+) was further discussed based on the specified absorption bands. Moreover, the occupation mechanism for the defects was discussed by using the IR absorption spectrum, which was attributed to the FeTa3- defects in the highly Fe-doped crystal. In addition, the holographic parameters were also found to be improved with a higher Fe/Ta ratio in the crystals.
Keywords: LiTaO3 crystals; X-ray diffraction; holographic properties; single crystal growth.