Self-focusing by electronic Kerr effect in LiNbO/sub 3/ crystal

Summary form only given. Lithium niobate (LiNbO/sub 3/) is an important nonlinear optical material with a variety of applications. It is desirable to study the dynamics of the third order nonlinearity for a better understanding of the behaviour and the mechanism of the light induced refractive index change. To our knowledge, the picosecond response of the third order nonlinear optical refraction of LiNbO/sub 3/ crystal has not been investigated yet. In this paper, we present the experimental study of the third-order nonlinear optical coefficient of LiNbO/sub 3/ crystal using the single beam Z-scan technique with picosecond pulses at 532 nm wavelength. The mechanism responsible for the obtained results is also discussed.