Detection and characterization of lower LIDT regions in KDP material

Matthieu Pommiès; David Damiani; Hervé Piombini; Bertrand Bertussi; Jérémie Capoulade; Jean-Yves Natoli; Hervé Mathis

doi:10.1117/12.637892

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7 February 2006 Detection and characterization of lower LIDT regions in KDP material

Matthieu Pommiès, David Damiani, Hervé Piombini, Bertrand Bertussi, Jérémie Capoulade, Jean-Yves Natoli, Hervé Mathis

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Proceedings Volume 5991, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2005; 59911T (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.637892
Event: Boulder Damage Symposium XXXVII: Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High Power Lasers, 2005, Boulder, CO, United States

Abstract

At very high powers the energy for a single shot in the LIL/LMJ laser is today limited among others by the robustness of the KDP-based components used for frequency conversion. Subsequently it is vitally important to improve as much as possible the Laser Induced Damage Threshold (LIDT) of these components to make possible even more powerful shots. The exceptionally large aperture of such lasers (40*40 cm²) required the development of rapid growth methods. Investigations are under way to improve the damage resistance of such materials by implementing more efficient conditioning procedures. In this work we focus on composition heterogeneities induced by the rapid growth method in KDP crystals and we examine the impact on the laser-damage resistance. Two LIDT measurement facilities are used to investigate KDP triplers robustness. Spatially resolved LIDT measurements at 355 nm show that the LID resistance is significantly lower in some regions. The efficiency of the excimer conditioning in the different regions is also addressed.

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Matthieu Pommiès, David Damiani, Hervé Piombini, Bertrand Bertussi, Jérémie Capoulade, Jean-Yves Natoli, and Hervé Mathis "Detection and characterization of lower LIDT regions in KDP material", Proc. SPIE 5991, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2005, 59911T (7 February 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.637892

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