Morphology of the ageing of α-LiIO3 single crystals by exposure to laser radiation

It was found experimentally that laser ageing of α-LiIO₃ single crystals created microdefects of less than 2 μ size. The behavior of these microdefects was investigated as a function of the laser radiation wavelength (1.064 and 0.532 μ) and of the temperature of a sample. A study was also made of the induced absorption associated with these defects. Similar defects were created by heating the samples up to ~200°C without laser irradiation. These experimental results were in agreement with an earlier thermochemical model of the ageing of α-LiIO₃ crystals.