Interface-mediated dc electro-optic instability in lithium niobate nanophotonics

Interface-mediated dc electro-optic instability in lithium niobate nanophotonics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Interface-mediated dc electro-optic instability in lithium niobate nanophotonics Matthew Yeh, David Barton, Gavin Smith, Aaron Day, Alexander Raun, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5775859/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In certain materials, the linear electro-optic (Pockels) effect allows direct control of the refractive index with an applied electric field. In practice, material inhomogeneities and defects cause the field inside the material to drift over macroscopic time scales. Such phenomena degrade the reliability and stability of integrated electro-optic devices. Here, we combine systematic measurements of dc electro-optic response, electronic transport, and elemental composition to examine the microscopic origins of dc instability in nanofabricated thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) devices. We identify two key sources of instability: the metal-LN contact interface where Schottky barriers impede charge injection, and the oxide-LN cladding interface where lithium diffusion occurs. Our work provides an electronic understanding of a long-standing photonics issue, advancing a potential pathway toward high-performance integrated electro-optic devices through materials-motivated design. Physical sciences/Physics/Electronics, photonics and device physics/Photonic devices Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for optics Full Text Additional Declarations Yes there is potential Competing Interest. M.L. and D.R. are involved in developing lithium niobate technologies at HyperLight Corporation. The remaining authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files DCdriftinterfaceSI.docx Supplementary Information File Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5775859","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":405166226,"identity":"b042133e-a7ee-49ff-a6aa-b21f28697710","order_by":0,"name":"Matthew Yeh","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA00lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACNoYPDAwJMDYDwwEitDDOIFkLMw9JWnRnJB97bPOLIY9/9hnDzxVlDHJ8NxLwazG7kZZunNvHUCxxLsdY8sw5BmNJwlpyzKRzexgSG86wJUg2tjEkbiCsJf+btCVQy/wzbMk/gVrqidCSwybN8ANo+BnmYyBbEgwIajnzzEyyt0EicSNQi2XDOQnDmWceENByPPmZxI8/NonzzjA232wos5HnO07AFgYBoALGNgkYVwKPUhjgPwAk/hChcBSMglEwCkYuAACPukhMP1EpAwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8711-6505","institution":"Harvard University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Matthew","middleName":"","lastName":"Yeh","suffix":""},{"id":405166227,"identity":"e9085c2b-775c-4ce6-a5bb-7820465f9ea3","order_by":1,"name":"David Barton","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5409-8512","institution":"Northwestern University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"David","middleName":"","lastName":"Barton","suffix":""},{"id":405166228,"identity":"787327c7-535f-49a0-a8c1-d442cfb6a9b6","order_by":2,"name":"Gavin Smith","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Harvard University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gavin","middleName":"","lastName":"Smith","suffix":""},{"id":405166229,"identity":"d7a38f8d-8a56-4c9a-a1fc-1cb6855abb64","order_by":3,"name":"Aaron Day","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2973-9434","institution":"Harvard University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aaron","middleName":"","lastName":"Day","suffix":""},{"id":405166230,"identity":"e3bb00b9-8c81-40d6-804c-f0bf3daf07c0","order_by":4,"name":"Alexander Raun","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Harvard University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alexander","middleName":"","lastName":"Raun","suffix":""},{"id":405166231,"identity":"d5faeaca-cc5c-4a37-809a-b2f1d0a18e2d","order_by":5,"name":"Dylan Renaud","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7709-9606","institution":"[email protected]","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dylan","middleName":"","lastName":"Renaud","suffix":""},{"id":405166232,"identity":"fb68d44f-819d-4020-8923-96947058c06a","order_by":6,"name":"Daniel Assumpcao","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0374-9901","institution":"Harvard University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Daniel","middleName":"","lastName":"Assumpcao","suffix":""},{"id":405166233,"identity":"102bd239-965f-4fea-85bc-9062dc8c90b8","order_by":7,"name":"Evelyn Hu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8805-1405","institution":"Harvard University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Evelyn","middleName":"","lastName":"Hu","suffix":""},{"id":405166234,"identity":"144ec091-a035-4fe1-9838-0d741a8bd272","order_by":8,"name":"Marko Loncar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Harvard University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marko","middleName":"","lastName":"Loncar","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-01-06 18:20:30","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5775859/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5775859/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":96363874,"identity":"95af0908-dbff-4e70-82d6-ce586566fbc3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 10:08:17","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1042515,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"DCdriftinterfaceManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5775859/v1_covered_bb4f8f8c-5cc6-4189-b443-456f929df438.pdf"},{"id":74401549,"identity":"92d77f96-94b1-441d-b187-299fa6032f83","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-01-22 03:18:10","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":7665074,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Information File","description":"","filename":"DCdriftinterfaceSI.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5775859/v1/9ad2ab78d958c15866da0290.docx"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cb\u003eYes\u003c/b\u003e there is potential Competing Interest.\nM.L. and D.R. are involved in developing lithium niobate technologies at HyperLight Corporation. 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