Influence of amaranth dye on the growth and properties of KDP single crystal

•Bulk size dye doped KDP crystal has been grown with size up to 53 × 20 × 50 mm3.•The effect of dye has been systematically studied.•The addition of dye influences mechanical stability and laser damage threshold.•The red emission was observed after the incorporation of dyes in the crystal lattice.•Addition of small amount of amaranth dye does not affect the functional groups of the KDP crystals.

Amaranth dye doped KDP single crystals were grown by slow cooling seed rotation method with the vision to improve the properties of the crystal. The grown crystals were of size up to 53 × 20 × 50 mm3. The grown crystals were subjected to FTIR, UV–vis photoluminescence, microhardness and laser damage threshold studies. The addition of dye improves the growth rate of the crystals. Photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra of amaranth doped KDP crystals are practically identical. Amaranth increases the mechanical strength and laser damage threshold of the grown crystals compared to pure KDP crystals.

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