Improvement of BBO NLO figures of merit by postgrowth thermal treatment

The effect of post-growth thermal treatment on optical figures of merit of BBO was studied. It was established that annealing in an atmosphere improved bulk transparency and homogeneity of the samples but simultaneosly accelerated the surface destruction. Annealing in organic solutions, in general, decreased a volume and surface optical loss, increased a material's homogeneity and its laser damage resitance. Key words: beta barium borate, annealing, laser damage.