Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/K92955/01
Title:	HIGH-RESOLUTION DIFFRACTION STUDIES OF DOMAIN-INVERTED FERROELECTRIC NONLINEAR OPTICAL CRYSTALS
Principal Investigator:	Thomas, Professor PA
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	IBM Pre Nexus Migration University of Oxford University of Southampton
Department:	Physics
Organisation:	University of Warwick
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	24 September 1996	Ends:	23 September 1998	Value (£):	100,939
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Condensed Matter Physics
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The proposed research lies in the field of condensed matter physics. The aims are to investigate and understand the physical nature of the inversion domains in deliberately created periodically domain-inverted (PDI) arrays in ferroelectric crystals. The study of these arrays presents a strong challenge to high-resolution diffraction and topography because their periodicities are of the order of ?m in length. They are created for optical device purposes and the most exciting arrays optically are of the shortest period, currently 3.6. ?m (LiTaO3) and 4.3 ?m (LiNbO3). These short-period arrays are equally of interest for x-ray diffraction experiments because by employing particular experimental strategies, we can strive to observe coherent scattering from PDI arrays at the spatial limit of the lateral coherence of x-rays in the laboratory, for the first time. Furthermore, following on from our earlier studies of large-period PDI crystals, there are many questions to answer about the complex inter-play between the physical constants of the crystal (e.g. piezoelectric coefficients), the pre-existing defect structure, the conditions used during domain-inversion and the period of the array, in establishing the final physical nature of the inversion domain walls. Thus, we propose here to employ state-of-the-art laboratory- and SRS-based x-ray diffraction and topography experiments, which push at the limits of currents techniques, in order to address these complex issues.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.warwick.ac.uk