HOLOGRAM RECORDING AND READING IN CUBIC GYROTROPIC PHOTOREFRACTIVE PIEZOCRYSTALS (Review)
The evolution of theoretical and experimental backgrounds for a photorefractive effect in cubic gyrotropic piezocrystals is considered in a historical perspective. It is shown that the impact of inverse piezoelectric effect and photoelasticity on the formation and properties of holograms recorded in such crystals is not reduced to minor quantitative variations in their output characteristics, but rather gives rise to qualitative changes both in orientation and polarization dependences of the hologram diffraction efficiency and in the gain of an object wave at the expense of a reference one. Contributions of various scientific optical schools to the development of theoretical and experimental investigations on the photorefractive effect in piezoelectric crystals of the cubic system are reflected and the importance of results of the investigations is shown. Particular emphasis is placed upon the ways to optimize the output characteristics of holograms recorded in cubic gyrotropic photorefractive piezocrystals; among them are a choice of a cut of the crystal and selection of the crystal sample orientation and the polarization of light waves.