Comparative structural, linear-non-linear optical, laser damage threshold, dielectric and thermal analysis of pristine and L-cysteine influenced KH2PO4 crystal for NLO applications

[Display omitted] •Large size crystals of LC-KDP are grown by low cost technique.•Structural and vibrational studies confirm the growth of LC-KDP crystals.•LC enhanced the optical transparency of KDP crystal by 8%•Enhanced SHG of LC doped KDP crystal is 1.84 times higher than KDP.•Thermal stability of the grown crystal has been studied. Current comparative investigation explores the structural, optical, frequency conversion efficiency, laser damage threshold, dielectric and thermal traits of undoped and L-cysteine (LC) doped potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystal grown by slow solvent evaporation method. The qualitative analysis of LC doped KDP crystal has been performed by means of fourier transform infrared analysis. Powder X-ray diffraction technique has been employed to assess the crystallinity, purity and unit cell values of LC doped KDP crystal. UV–visible study has been carried out within 200–900 nm to probe the effect of LC on transmittance of KDP. In LC doped KDP, large boost in second harmonic generation due to charge delocalization phenomenon has been ascertained by Kurtz-Perry test. The laser induced damage resistance of LC doped KDP crystal has been determined by 1064 nm laser and it is valued to be 5.31 GW/cm2. The dielectrics of undoped and LC doped KDP crystals have been investigated by means of dielectric characterization study. The thermal parameters of LC doped KDP crystal has been examined using thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry.