Lithium tantalate is a crystalline solid which 
possesses unique optical, piezoelectric and 
pyroelectric properties which make it 
valuable for non-linear optics, passive 
infrared sensors, such as motion detectors, 
terahertz generation and detection, surface 
acoustic wave applications, cell phones 
and possibly pyroelectric nuclear fusion and 
optical waveguide and SAW
substrates, piezoelectric transducers etc.