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The optical damage of 1 mol % Sc2O3-doped LiNbO3 was approximately two times smaller than an optical grade LiNbO3 measured as a function of Ar+ (λ=488 nm) irradiation time. Severe Ar+ beam distortion observed in the undoped LiNbO3 was not present in the Sc2O3-doped LiNbO3. There was negligible shift in the OH− absorption band but a 10 nm blue shift was observed in the absorption edge, indicating that Sc3+ and Mg2+ incorporation may proceed by a different mechanism. This is the first of reported results, to the authors’ knowledge, of a trivalent dopant increasing the damage resistance level in LiNbO3.

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