Laser healing of thermally induced optical damage and its relationship with the spectral characteristics of neodymium-doped lithium niobate

An investigation was made of the polarization dependence of the kinetics of laser healing of thermally induced optical damage (TIOD) in LiNbO₃:Nd crystals and its relationship with the polarized absorption spectra. It was observed that the kinetics of healing of TIOD differed when the crystal was illuminated by extraordinarily and ordinarily polarized beams. The nature of the healing of TIOD is discussed. Some features of the polarization-dependent absorption spectra of crystals with and without optical inhomogeneities are considered.