Considerations on the Optimization and Relevant Characterization of Photorefractive Materials

Photorefractives are very versatile, attractive optoelectronic materials, having a wide range of possible applications. A variety of functions have been demonstrated on a laboratory basis, but so far, only very few of them have found widespread applications. One main reason for this failure seems to be that the preparation of components, with optimal and reliable relevant characteristics, comes up against a fundamental, more and more crucial problem: the lack of a systematic physical and physico-chemical characterization in parallel with optical studies and material processing.