Recent development of nonlinear optical borate crystals for UV generation

Recent development of high-power solid-state UV radiation by nonlinear optical (NLO) borate crystals is reviewed. The performance of such UV light sources has rapidly improved in the past five years because of the superior NLO properties of CsLiB6O10 (CLBO) crystals. The performance of such UV light sources also depends on the reliability of the NLO crystals. The relation between the bulk laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT), dislocation density and UV absorption of CsLiB6O10 (CLBO) was investigated. A newly developed synthesis process allows the growth of CLBO crystals with LIDT 2.5-fold higher than those grown by the conventional top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) technique. High-quality CLBO possesses lower dislocation density and smaller absorption of UV light (lambda = 266 nm) than conventional CLBO. Reduction of the dislocation density can suppress absorption of UV light that helps to enhance the resistance of CLBO to laser-induced damages, to alleviate thermal dephasing during high-power generation of UV light and thus strengthen the reliability of CLBO for UV light generation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.