Laser-induced damage in deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate

Laser-induced pinpoint bulk damage of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate at 351 nm is shown to depend on the propagation direction relative to the crystallographic axes and on growth temperature in addition to the previously reported dependence on continuous filtration. Pulse-length scaling is also consistent with earlier reports. The leading hypothesis for the cause of pinpoint damage is absorbing nanoparticle impurities, and our results are consistent with but not conclusive for that model. Advances in technology have led to greatly improved damage resistance. (C) 2003 Optical Society of America.