The need to have a large single crystal of photorefractive material for devices such as optical limiters, optical memory, and beam couplers, is avoided by providing a photorefractive body (42) comprising small photorefractive particles (44) coupled by a couplant (43), for example glass, which is refractive index-matched to the particles. Such a body may comprise a fiber (42), or a bulk body (80). For many uses it will be necessary to align the photorefractive particles in the body and this can be achieved using fluid flows or electrostatically. Methods of making the particles, and of making photorefractive bodies are disclosed. Devices incorporating particle-couplant matrix bodies are disclosed.