Electro-optic properties of single crystalline ferroelectric thin films

We have investigated the transverse and longitudinal electro-optic properties of epitaxial single crystalline lead lanthanum zirconate titanate ferroelectric thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition on [100] silicon and MgAl2O4 substrates. With the electric field applied in a longitudinal geometry, we measure birefringence shifts of up to 1×10 -3. These films exhibit a large optical hysteresis, and may provide a basis for electrically written, optically and nondestructively read nonvolatile memories.