Fabrication and optical characterization of stable suspensions of iron- or copper-doped lithium niobate nanocrystals in heptane

Stable suspensions of iron- or copper-doped lithium niobate nanocrystals in heptane are prepared by high-energy ball milling of iron- and copper-doped bulk crystals for 25 h. The distribution of particle sizes is determined by means of dynamic light scattering with more than 90% of the crystals in the range of 10–25 nm. The optical absorption of the suspensions suggests a changed environment of the dopants.