Ultraviolet laser-induced poling inhibition produces bulk domains in MgO-doped lithium niobate crystals

We report the realization of high-resolution bulk domains achieved using a shallow, structured, domain inverted surface template obtained by UV laser-induced poling inhibition in MgO-doped lithium niobate. The quality of the obtained bulk domains is compared to those of the template and their application for second harmonic generation is demonstrated. The present method enables domain structures with a period length as small as 3 μm to be achieved. Furthermore, we propose a potential physical mechanism that leads to the transformation of the surface template into bulk domains.