A slab waveguide was fabricated in a potassium lithium tantalate niobate crystal by the implantation of He2+ ions at 2.26 MeV. The waveguide profile and loss were evaluated by measuring the dark mode TE spectrum using the prism coupling method at λ=1.3 μm. The implantation generated amorphous cladding layer 5 μm below the surface of the crystal with a refractive index lower by 3.9% then that of the substrate. The propagation loss of the waveguided modes was found to be 0.1–0.2 dB/cm. Thermal stability of the waveguide was obtained by isothermal annealing at 351 and 446 °C. Following the annealing the waveguide index profile remained unchanged when subjected to annealing at 150 °C for one week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]Copyright of Applied Physics Letters is the property of American Institute of Physics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)