Synthesis and investigation of homogeneously doped precursor Ta2O5〈Sm〉 and charge of composition LiTaO3〈Sm

For growing single crystals of lithium tantalate of optical quality with high homogeneity of their composition and desired concentration of dopant of samarium a method for producing a solid precursor Ta 2 O 5 〈Sm〉 and homogeneously doped charge LiTaO 3 〈Sm〉 of a congruent composition was developed. X-ray diffraction analysis and IR spectroscopy were used to study the phase composition of Ta 2 O 5 〈Sm〉 and LiTaO 3 〈Sm〉. Conditions for preparation of the monophasic charge LiTaO 3 〈Sm〉 were determined: (Sm concentration in Ta 2 O 5 ≤ 1.5 wt %, the molar ratio [Li 2 O]/[Ta 2 O 5 ] = 0.941, synthesis temperature 1200°C). By mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma and sampling by laser ablation a distribution of the dopant of samarium in Ta 2 O 5 〈Sm〉 and LiTaO 3 〈Sm〉 was examined and the chemical homogeneity of the synthesized products was confirmed.