Enhanced surface blistering efficiency of H+ implanted lithium tantalate by chemical reduction modification

•Chemical reduction method was applied to introducing defects into lithium tantalate crystal. It was found that part of the O and Ta atoms in the reduced black lithium tantalate were displaced, and some Ta-O bonds are weakened.•The defects introduced by chemical reduction method in lithium tantalate crystal were found to increase the forming efficiency of implantation-induced defects in the H+ implantation process.•The increased forming efficiency of implantation-induced defects was found to increase the blistering efficiency of lithium tantalate crystal. The reduced lithium tantalate crystal had a lower activation energy for the blistering process and a larger film exfoliation area than the referenced lithium tantalate crystal, which is of significance for the LT film transferring by CIS technology.