Laser Induced Optical Damage in KTP

摘要

In this paper we describe three types of optical damage in KTP which we distinguish as laser induced photochromic damage (LIP), laser induced electrochromic damage (LIE), and a third unidentified type of damage. Each type of damage involves different crystalline defects and different production mechanisms. The dominant type of damage observed in any particular experiment is strongly dependent on experimental parameters (peak power, average power, repetition rate, etc.). The discrepancies in the published investigations of optical damage are likely the result of different researchers examining different types of optical damage.