A time-resolved high-power laser photometer, which measures the real-time variations of transmission, internal reflection, and scattering simultaneously with picosecond time resolution, was developed to investigate the material response sequence during high-power nanosecond laser irradiation in thick fused silica. It was found that the transient transmission decreased sharply, accompanied by an increase in internal reflection at the rising edge of the laser pulse. The transient transmission recovered, while laser damage did not occur, but it did not recover if the scattering increased, indicating the occurrence of laser damage. The reason for the sharp decrease of transmission and the relationship between the transmission drop and laser damage were discussed.

Laser-induced modification at 355 nm of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) crystals following exposure to nanosecond (ns) and sub-ns laser irradiation is investigated in order to probe the absorption mechanism in damage initiation. Laser damage resistance is greatly improved by sub-ns laser conditioning, whereas only a little improvement occurred after ns laser conditioning at the same laser fluence. Moreover, scattering and transmittance variations after the two types of laser conditioning indicate similar reduction of linear absorption. However, by contrast, large differences on nonlinear absorption modification are discovered using Z-scan measurement. This characteristic absorption modification by laser irradiation provides evidence that a nonlinear absorption mechanism plays a key role in damage initiation at 355 nm.