ELECTROOPTIC WAFER BEAM DEFLECTOR IN LITAO3

A novel electrooptic beam deflector is reported based on ferroelectric domain inversion extending through the thickness of a Z-cut LiTaO3 wa fer. The selective domain inversion is achieved by electric field poli ng assisted by proton exchange, rather than proton exchange followed b y rapid thermal annealing. The deflection sensitivity of the device wa s measured to be 5.0 mrad/KV. This is 93% of the theoretical value for this geometry, and a significant improvement over the value of 80% of theoretical previously reported for a waveguide deflector. This impro vement is attributed to the new domain inversion process. No degradati on of deflection sensitivity is observed up to the frequency of 300 KH z, which is then limited by the response time of detectors.