Fast-response pyroelectric crystal detector based on Ba0.25Sr0.75Nb2O6

A study was made of the problems of using Ba_xSr_1–xNb₂O₆ (BSN) crystals to measure high-power CO₂ laser radiation of λ = 10.6 μ wavelength. An experimental investigation of BSN crystals with x = 0.25 yielded the characteristics of a pyroelectric detector of this type: responsivity 20 V/MW; response time 2 nsec; linear up to 3 MW/cm²; optical strength up to 9 MW/cm². Pyroelectric detectors based on BSN crystals were used to detect and analyze the spatial and temporal structure of short high-power CO₂ laser pulses.