The growth of nonlinear optical crystals of large size and excellent quality is of prime importance for frequency conversion applications. In the flux growth of LiB 3 O 5 (LBO), the presence of extended BO 3 and BO 4 chain-like structures gives rise to highly viscous melts. As a consequence, mass transport is restricted and the depletion of material at the melt-crystal interface results in unstable hopper growth. The addition of small amounts of NaCl to the melt is effective in breaking BO 4 bond chains. The resulting reduction in viscosity facilitates an increase in growth rate by up to a factor of 3. However, the incorporation of NaCl into the lattice may have an adverse effect on crystal quality. In the present study, LBO crystals of typical dimension 30x30x26mm 3 were grown by top-seeded solution from borate fluxes doped with 2 and 4mol% NaCl, and without NaCl. Changes in growth and morphology are described as a function of melt dopant concentration. Laser damage threshold will be discussed in relation to the concentration of NaCl in the crystal.