Distribution of impurities in lithium iodate crystals

The ability of single crystals α - lithium iodate to transmit polarized light in the wavelength band 0.25 to 0.7 μm has been studied. An impurity absorption band has been observed near the fundamental optical absorption edge. At the chosen conditions for crystal growth, the extent to which impurities were absorbed into the crystal lattice was a function of distance from the original seed crystal and so was dependent on the position of the crystal relative to the beam and the polarization of the beam.