Photorefractive response of CdTe: V under ac electric field from 1 to 1.5 μm

Abstract The ac field technique leading to the enhancement of the photorefractive effect is applied to vanadium-doped cadmium telluride. Net photorefractive gain is obtained for the three wavelenghts studied: 1.06 μm and 1.55 μm. A change in the sign of the photorefractive gain between 1.06 μm and 1.55 μm is observed, which represents the first evidence of an electron-hole competition in this material. Theoretical interpretation is performed using an extension of the ac field theoretical model with bipolar conduction.