Tantalum oxide light guide on lithium tantalate

Abstract
A technique is reported which allows formation of a light‐guiding Ta2O5 film onto an electro‐optic LiTaO3 crystal. We find it necessary to have an isolation layer (a 144‐Å SiO2 layer in our case) between the Ta film and the substrate in order to prevent interactions between them during thermal oxidation of the Ta film. Possible applications of the structure to thin‐film electro‐optic and acousto‐optic devices are examined.
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