$\beta$-Barium Borate (BBO) Absorption in the 0.188-6.22 $\mu$m Range

TL;DR

This paper reviews the absorption properties of $eta$-Barium Borate (BBO) across a broad wavelength range, highlighting its implications for high-power laser applications and thermal effects.

Contribution

It compiles and analyzes existing data and measurements on BBO absorption, providing a comprehensive resource for understanding its thermal and optical behavior.

Findings

Absorption data for BBO across 0.188-6.22 μm range.

Implications for thermal management in high-power laser systems.

Enhanced understanding of BBO's suitability for nonlinear optics.

Abstract

The crystal of $\beta$-Barium Borate is widely used for nonlinear light wavelength conversion like harmonics generation and parametric amplification when pumped by the pulsed lasers and as electro-optically switched Pockels cells. Modern lasers produce hundreds of watts of average power, thus thermal effects become important. In this work, absorption of the crystal is obtained by reviewing published data, results of measurements performed by the author and data provided by the optics industry.