Abstract

Light induced frustration of etching (LIFE) describes the effect of the partial suppression or complete cancellation of chemical etching in the presence of light. This effect has been demonstrated in iron doped congruent lithium niobate single crystals where the -z face of a z-cut crystal which etches normally (in 1:2 HF:HNO₃ac id mixture) can be made etch resistant in the presence of a blue laser beam during the chemical etching procedure.¹ The effect has been attributed to the generation of charges due to photo-conduction which diffuse to the surface and stop the chemical etching process. Some degree of latency has also been reported.²

© 2002 Optical Society of America