Abstract
We present and analyze the room temperature (T=23.5 °C) time behavior of the transmitted intensities of polarized light passing through an unclamped (100)-type single crystal of barium titanate (BaTiO3) when subject to a time-dependent, externally applied electric field. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported observation and analysis of such time-resolved optical transients. According to a previous [ J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 22, 377 ( 2005)] observation by the authors, this original optical technique can, in principle, be used on 18 out of 20 noncentrosymmetric crystal point groups where the first-order (Pockels) and second-order (Kerr) electro-optic effects coexist. Because of its nondestructive nature, this novel optical method would be a useful tool in other fields of condensed-matter physics in which time-behavior observation and characterization of certain physical parameters of crystals are important.
© 2005 Optical Society of America
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