Optical studies of laser-induced gray-tracking in KTP

We have studied gray-tracking induced by a pulsed and polarized 532-nm laser beam in flux grown KTiOPO/sub 4/ (KTP) crystals. Transmission spectra measured under polarized light give different results: gray-tracking leads to an increase in the initial anisotropy of the linear optical properties of KTP, and the polar axis is the most sensitive to this process. The dynamics of relaxation of gray-tracking is anisotropic and depends on the wavelength under analysis. We show a possible induced modification of the crystal surface and also the existence of an intensity above which gray-tracking reaches the saturation point. We then measure the temperature above which gray-tracking no longer exists.