Quasi phase matched UV second harmonic generation in Lithium Tantalate soft PE waveguides

We report on first experimental results on UltraViolet second-harmonic generation by first-order quasiphase-matching in a surface periodically poled proton exchanged Lithium Tantalate waveguide. We have achieved a good compatibility with alpha phase proton exchanged channel waveguides in Lithium Tantalate. We held the sample in a temperature controlled oven kept at a constant temperature of 250 °C, to reduce photorefractive damage. The pump source was a Ti-Sapphire laser with a tunability range of 700 - 980 nm and a 40-GHz linewidth. Continuous wave UV light at 365.4 nm was produced with a conversion efficiency of 6.6% W-1cm-2.