Microwave Ultrasonic Attenuation in LiTaO3

Abstract

The acoustic attenuation of shear and longitudinal waves propagating along the c axis in LiTaO3 has been measured from 1 to 9 GHz. Measurements were made from 4° to 300°K using the microwave pulse-echo technique and at 300°K using optical Bragg diffraction. The shear- and longitudinal-wave attenuation in LiTaO3 at 300°K was found to be similar to that of LiNbO3. However, the change in shear-wave attenuation between 4° and 300°K is much smaller in LiTaO3 than in LiNbO3.