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A way to stabilize the domain structure in periodically poled Rb-doped KTiOPO4 samples at high-temperatures is presented. The domain contraction along the b-crystallographic axis that is observed when crystals are annealed at high temperatures is suppressed when the ends of the domains along the b-axis are diced away. Additionally, the thermal stability of self-assembled domain gratings with a sub-μm average periodicity of 650 ± 200 nm and a domain-width of 225 ± 75 nm in mm-thick samples is investigated, and it is shown that the key factor for the domain stability is the domain width rather than the interdomain distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the thermal stability of domain walls in periodically poled Rb-doped KTP crystals. Domain-wall motion is observed after annealing the crystals above 550°C. This motion is highly anisotropic along the a- and b- crystallographic axes. Along the b-axis domain wall motion is in the order of tens of micrometers. In the a-direction, it results in either three orders of magnitude smaller domain wall displacement or in domain merging, depending on the initial domain configuration. We show that the thermal stability of the domain gratings depends on their periodicity, resulting in complete backswitching for sub-micrometer domains annealed at 730°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]