Abstract
Near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystals doped with iron were prepared by vapor transport equilibration (VTE) method. The gain coefficient of these samples were measured and compared to the near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystals prepared by double-crucible method, and the diffraction efficiency, recording time and erasing time were also done. The dynamic range coefficient (M/#) and homogeneity of the composition in the crystals were investigated too.