Determining the sign of a polar surface of lithium niobate crystal by UV reflectance spectroscopy

We propose to reveal the +$Z$ and -$Z$ surfaces of a polar cut lithium niobate crystal by measuring its UV reflection spectrum. By the example of a congruent lithium niobate, it is shown that the intensities of light reflection from polar crystal surfaces of different signs in the region of 190–260 nm differ by up to several percent. The depth of short-wave radiation penetration into surface layers of the crystal in the spectral range of intrinsic absorption is estimated. It is shown that the proposed method can be used for determining the surface signs of polar crystal layers with thicknesses from several dozen to several hundred microns.