The mechanisms by which transparent dielectrics damage when exposed to high power laser radiation has been of scientific and technological interest since the invention of the laser. In this work, a set of three experiments are presented which provide insight into the damage initiation mechanisms and the processes involved in laser-induced damage. Using an OPO (optical parametric oscillator) laser, we have measured the damage thresholds of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) from the near ultraviolet into the visible. Distinct steps, whose width is of order K{sub b}T, are observed in the damage threshold at photon energies associated with the number of photons (3{yields}2 or 4{yields}3) needed to promote a ground state electron across the energy gap. The wavelength dependence of the damage threshold suggests that a primary mechanism for damage initiation in DKDP is a multi-photon process in which the order is reduced through excited defect state absorption. In-situ fluorescence microscopy, in conjunction with theoretical calculations by Liu et al., has been used to establish that hydrogen displacement defects are potentially responsible for the reduction in the multi-photon cross-section. During the damage process, the material absorbs energy from the laser pulse and produces an ionized region that gives rise to …

High-pressure, high-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (HPHTSTM) was used to study adsorbate structures and reactions on single crystal model catalytic systems. Studies of the automobile catalytic converter reaction [CO + NO {yields} 1/2 N{sub 2} + CO{sub 2}] on Rh(111) and ethylene hydrogenation [C{sub 2}H{sub 4} + H{sub 2} {yields} C{sub 2}H{sub 6}] on Rh(111) and Pt(111) elucidated information on adsorbate structures in equilibrium with high-pressure gas and the relationship of atomic and molecular mobility to chemistry. STM studies of NO on Rh(111) showed that adsorbed NO forms two high-pressure structures, with the phase transformation from the (2 x 2) structure to the (3 x 3) structure occurring at 0.03 Torr. The (3 x 3) structure only exists when the surface is in equilibrium with the gas phase. The heat of adsorption of this new structure was determined by measuring the pressures and temperatures at which both (2 x 2) and (3 x 3) structures coexisted. The energy barrier between the two structures was calculated by observing the time necessary for the phase transformation to take place. High-pressure STM studies of the coadsorption of CO and NO on Rh(111) showed that CO and NO form a mixed (2 x 2) structure …