2-1/2-D electromagnetic modeling of nodular defects in high-power multilayer optical coatings

Abstract

Advances in the design and production of high damage threshold optical coatings for use in mirrors and polarizers have been driven by the design requirements of high-power laser systems such as the proposed 1.8-MJ National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the prototype 12- kJ Beamlet laser system. The present design of the NIF will include 192 polarizers and more than 1100 mirrors. Currently, the material system of choice for high-power multilayer optical coatings with high damage threshold applications near 1.06 {mu}m are e-beam deposited HfO{sub 2}/Si0{sub 2} coatings. However, the optical performance and laser damage thresholds of these coatings are limited by micron-scale defects and insufficient control over layer thickness. In this report, we will discuss the results of our 2-1/2-D finite-element time- domain (FDTD) EM modeling effort for rotationally-symmetric nodular defects in multilayer dielectric HR coatings. We have added a new diagnostic to the 2-1/2-D FDTD EM code, AMOS, that enables us to calculate the peak steady-state electric fields throughout a 2-D planar region containing a 2-D r-z cross-section of the axisymmetric nodular defect and surrounding multilayer dielectric stack. We have also generated a series of design curves to identify the range of loss tangents for Si0{sub 2} and HfO{submore » 2} consistent with the experimentally determined power loss of the HR coatings. In addition, we have developed several methods to provide coupling between the EM results and the thermal-mechanical simulation effort.« less