Laser polarization dependence of strong-field ionization in lithium niobate

Laser micromachining techniques using femtosecond laser pulses are employed for the fabrication of a wide range of devices, from optical waveguides and fiber Bragg gratings to microfluidic systems. In this perspective, it is important to characterize how transparent materials respond to the high-intensity laser field in order to fully understand and control the strong-field ionization process at the core of such techniques. Here, we characterize the laser polarization dependence of y -cut and x -cut ferroelectric lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) upon ionization. Using linearly polarized 1800-nm femtosecond pulses, we perform single-shot laser-induced ablation measurements to obtain a macroscopic observable with a large contrast compared to all-optical techniques. In the tunnel ionization regime, the crystal orientation can be correlated with the structural symmetry/asymmetry of the material. This is revealed through a variation of the ablated area when the laser polarization is rotated with respect to the c axis of the crystal. It is further found that ablation is more pronounced when the laser polarization is oriented towards angular regions containing Nb-O bonds of the unit cell, identifying the main chemical bonds contributing to the ionization of the material. The experimental results are supported by numerical simulations based on a two-band model for LiNbO₃.