The relationship between the bulk laser-induced damage threshold, the dislocation density and the absorption of laser light was investigated. A newly-developed process permitted the growth of crystals with a laser-induced damage threshold that was 2.5 times higher than that for samples grown by using the conventional top-seeded solution growth technique. High-quality material exhibited a lower dislocation density (6.6 x 103/cm2) than that (about 1.5 x 104/cm2) of conventional material. The absorption of laser light was characterized by measuring the temperature increase at the crystal output surface during the generation of fourth-harmonic (266nm) light in Nd:YAG lasers. At an ultra-violet power of 5W, the maximum temperature increase was equal to 6C for high-quality material. This was some 30% lower than that generated in conventional crystals. It was concluded that a reduction in dislocation density could suppress the absorption of laser light.

Influence of Crystallinity on the Bulk Laser-Induced Damage Threshold and Absorption of Laser Light in CsLiB6O10 Crystals. T.Kamimura, R.Ono, Y.K.Yap, M.Yoshimura, Y.Mori, T.Sasaki: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics - 2, 2001, 40[2A], L111-3