Laser induced bulk damage of KDP crystals prepared by rapid growth

Laser damage of TYPE-I KDP plate was investigated. High-purity large-aperture KDP crystals used for second harmonic frequency generation in high power laser systems were prepared by rapid growth. The different parts of the KDP boule, spanning the growth history including early, middle and late growth stages, were examined for their bulk defect properties and laser damage behaviors. Ultra-microscopy was employed to analyze the preexisting laser scattering defects, and the correlations between scattering and laser damage initiations/growth were identified. The laser damage fluence was dominated by the defect scale or the scattering intensity. Simulation of thermal response of the defects under laser radiation indicated the micro-explosion occurrence. Thermal annealing and laser conditioning were applied to reduce defect density and improve laser damage resistance. Based on the above techniques, laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of 400 mm aperture TYPE-I crystal plate exceeded 22J/cm(2) (1064nm, 3ns), which met the requirements of the high power laser systems