Near-stoichiometric LiTaO3 for deep UV electro-optical applications

The electro-optic effect is widely used in scientific and technical applications for modulation, deflection or processing of optical signals. Since laser sources in the UV are becoming available, there is an increasing interest in such low wavelength applications. We observed an interesting new fixing process of the holographic gratings and of the light-induced waveguide structures. These quasi-fixed structures with dark decay times of several days are written in the deep traps of the crystal.