Robust damage thresholds in ZnGeP 2 at 2 µm

Zinc germanium phosphide (ZnGeP2) has been of interest to the U.S. Air Force since the late 1980's as an alternative to silver gallium selenide (AgGaSe2) for infrared nonlinear frequency conversion. Although 2-µm pumped OPO devices using ZnGeP2 have been demonstrated1 and studies of absorption and thermal characteristics have been undertaken, only incidental damage threshold measurements have been reported 2,3 We present the results of conditioned damage measurements on a series of ZnGeP2 witness samples grown at Lockheed Sanders.