Electron-Beam Domain Patterning on the Nonpolar Surfaces of LiNbO<sub>3</sub> Crystals and in Optical Waveguides Formed on the Nonpolar Surfaces
In this review our recent results on the electron-beam domain writing (EBDW) on the nonpolar surfaces of LiNbO<sub>3</sub> crystals of different compositions are presented. The obtained results permitted us to relate the main characteristics of domain formation (the domain sizes and velocity V<sub>f</sub> of the frontal motion) to the irradiation conditions (the accelerating voltage U of scanning electron microscopy, EB-current I, the inserted charge Q). The domain depth T<sub>d</sub> is controlled by U via the electron penetration depth; the domain length L<sub>d</sub> increases linearly with Q owing to the domain frontal growth by the viscous friction law. In optical waveguides, the matching of the T<sub>d</sub> value with the waveguide thickness D provides optimal values of the waveguide conversion to the second harmonic.