The influence of annealing in saturated water vapor on LiNbO3 crystals optical and electrical properties

The temperature dependence of the dark electrical conductivity of the LiNbO
₃
crystals annealed in saturated H
₂
O and D
₂
O vapor in the range 293...400 K is investigated. It is found that the activation energy of the electrical conductivity is equal to (0.71 ± 0.02) eV. This value is similar to the activation energy of the H
₂
-reduced LiNbO
₃
. Annealing in ampoules with H
₂
O vapor also leads to LN optical spectra changes similar to the annealing in H
₂
. The nature of this phenomenon is discussed.