Session A18 - Laser Applications in Materials Physics I: Laser-Materials Interactions.
MIXED session, Monday morning, March 20
206AB, MCC
The utilization of optical materials for high power laser applications is always accompanied by a threshold at which energy from the laser is coupled into the bulk of the material. This process is usually associated with irreversible materials modification. These modifications may be structural or opto-electronic, and often are labeled as ''damage" within the material. Experimental results indicate that the observed modifications are the result of high temperature and pressure. We have studied these materials modification processes using time-resolved and steady state spectroscopy on crystals of KH^2PO^4 (KDP) which is a non-linear crystal of particular importance to many high power laser systems. Our experimental results on KDP indicate the generation of high temperatures on the order of 10,000 K. Raman scattering and emission spectroscopy are reported which elucidate the nature of the structural and optical changes which occur following the generation of these high temperatures.