Periodically poled lithium niobate

Periodically poled lithium niobate is lithium niobate whose ferroelectric domain orientation is reversed periodically along an optical interaction path. Reversal changes the sign of the relevant second-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, supplying the spatial modulation needed for quasi-phase-matching.

For a uniform collinear conversion mismatch $\Delta k$, a first-order poling period $\Lambda$ can compensate it through $\Delta k-2\pi /\Lambda \simeq 0$, with signs chosen consistently. The generated contributions then reinforce over many domains instead of repeatedly canceling. The poling period, temperature and input wavelengths determine the useful conversion band; domain defects and finite length affect efficiency. ^[ref]