The industrial fabrication of 3" optical grade LiTaO/sub 3/ crystals

A very challenging industrial application of optical grade LiTaO/sub 3/ (LT) Z-cut crystals is the second harmonic generation (SHG) by quasi-phase-matched (QPM) frequency conversion for compact, efficient and high performance visible light emission in solid-state lasers. To achieve QPM conditions the electrical periodic poling (PPLT) is used on LiTaO/sub 3/ optical grade substrates. Due to the main application of LT substrates for the surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology, the industrial growth of optical grade 3" LT crystal is still an advanced activity. In this paper will be presented results on the growth of 3" optical grade LT wafers with a focus on the industrial approach to get high quality substrates for the main commercial applications of optical LT.