Influence of bulk defects on bulk damage performance of fused silica optics at 355 nm nanosecond pulse laser

Abstract

We demonstrate the effects of typical bulk defects in fused silica on the bulk damage threshold under nanosecond UV pulse in this study. A new test method is proposed to accurately evaluate laser induced bulk damage performance. The bulk bubble, hydroxyl, metal impurity, and weak absorption of the 355 nm laser are respectively characterized. The effects of bulk defects on bulk damage performance are analyzed statistically based on the correlation principle. For synthetic fused silica, metal impurities and hydroxyl have a weak correlation coefficient with the bulk damage threshold, while there is strong correlation between weak UV absorption and the bulk damage threshold. The influence of bulk damage threshold on surface damage performance is also discussed.