Ultraviolet laser damage and optical properties of high-refractive-index single layers, multiple layers, and high/low index multilayer stacks

Abstract

Laser induced damage thresholds, measured using N-on-1 and R-on-1 testing, of single layer high index zirconia and hafnia coatings, derived from nitric or acetic acid stabilized sol-gel processing, are reported. Single layer acetic acid, nitric acid and base catalyzed silica sol-gel coatings have also been tested. The sol-gels were dip coated onto fused silica substrates at a rate of 3mm/s. The refractive index of the materials were measured using transmission spectra of multiple pairs of high and low refractive index materials. Absorption in the UV region was similarly measured with multiple layers of the same material and fitting to a Beer's law behavior. The high index materials used were zirconia or hafnia, the low index material was silica. The compatibility of the various combinations of high and low index materials for physical stacking without cracking, achieving high reflectivity and high damage thresholds are discussed and compared.