Damage Threshold Of Optical Coatings Research Articles

Impact of contamination and aging effects on the long-term laser damage resistance of SiO2/HfO2/TiO2 high reflection coatings for 1054 nm

The laser damage thresholds of optical coatings can degrade over time due to a variety of factors, including contamination and aging. Optical coatings deposited using electron beam evaporation are particularly susceptible to degradation due to their porous structure. In a previous study, the laser damage thresholds of optical coatings were reduced by roughly a factor of 2 from the years 2013 to 2017. The coatings in question were high reflectors for 1054 nm that contained SiO2 and HfO2 and/or TiO2 layers, and they were stored in sealed PETG containers in a class 100 clean room with temperature control. At the time, it was not certain whether contamination or thin-film aging effects were responsible for the reduced laser damage thresholds. Therefore, to better understand the role of contamination, the coatings were recleaned and the laser damage thresholds were measured again in 2018. The results indicate that the contamination played the most dominant role in reducing the laser damage thresholds of these optical coatings, even though they were stored in an environment that was presumed to be clean.

Enhancement of laser-induced damage threshold of optical coatings by ion-beam etching in vacuum environment

Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) method was used to etch the different thickness of the outer layer overcoat for high reflection film. Laser resistance improvements enabling to exceed 1.5× have been observed on high reflection coatings. The smoothing process of surface and subsurface convex defect induced by ion-beam etching caused the decreasing electric field intensity. A process model was presented to understand the smoothing process of surface and subsurface convex defect. The decreasing electric field intensity, accompanying with small surface roughness value, low defect density and organic contamination adsorption concentration of sample surface, was attributed to the high laser-induced damage threshold in vacuum environment.

How reduced vacuum pumping capability in a coating chamber affects the laser damage resistance of HfO2/SiO2antireflection and high-reflection coatings

Optical coatings with the highest laser damage thresholds rely on clean conditions in the vacuum chamber during the coating deposition process. A low-base pressure in the coating chamber, as well as the ability of the vacuum system to maintain the required pressure during deposition, are important aspects of limiting the amount of defects in an optical coating that could induce laser damage. Our large optics coating chamber at Sandia National Laboratories normally relies on three cryo pumps to maintain low pressures for e-beam coating processes. However, on occasion, one or more of the cryo pumps have been out of commission. In light of this circumstance, we explored how deposition under compromised vacuum conditions resulting from the use of only one or two cryo pumps affects the laser-induced damage thresholds of optical coatings. The coatings of this study consist of HfO2 and SiO2 layer materials and include antireflection coatings for 527 nm at normal incidence and high-reflection coatings for 527 nm at 45-deg angle of incidence in P-polarization.

Temperature dependence of laser-induced damage threshold of optical coatings at different pulse widths

The temperature dependence of the laser-induced damage threshold on optical coatings was studied in detail for laser pulses from 123 K to 473 K at different temperature. For pulses longer than a few picoseconds, the laser-induced damage threshold of coated substrates increased with decreasing temperature. This temperature dependence was reversed for pulses shorter than a few picoseconds. We describe the physics models to explain the observed scaling. The electron avalanche is essential to explain the differences in the temperature dependence.

Laser damage thresholds of optical coatings

Since the very beginning of laser technology, Laser Induced Damage Thresholds (LIDT) of optical components were always an obstacle for the application of laser systems operating at high power levels. Also, further progresses in the development of new high power laser concepts are often directly limited by the availability of advanced optical components with high quality and LIDT-values. Nowadays, in the course of the development of optical materials with excellent quality and power handling capability, the problem of laser induced damage has shifted from the bulk to the surface of the optical component. The optical surface is objected to various production steps and environmental influences, which modify its structure and composition. Especially, the thin film coating, which is deposited on the optical surface to adapt its reflectance and transmittance to the application, contributes predominantly to the reduction of the LIDT-values. As a consequence, the measurement and optimization of the power handling capability of thin films is considered as one of the primary research areas in modern optics technology and is supported by an extensive scientific community.In the present paper, a brief review will be given on selected fundamental damage mechanisms in thin films considering different operation conditions of modern laser systems. Also, the current standards for the measurement of LIDT will be described, and examples illustrating some practical aspects of high power optical coatings will be presented. Finally, recent trends in laser technology will be discussed in respect to research in laser induced damage.

In-situ investigation of laser ablation of thin films

The probe beam deflection technique, based on the mirage effect, has been applied to monitor laser processing of polymer and metal films and to measure damage thresholds of optical coatings. The technique is described and it will be shown that its sensitivity permits distinguishing between surface effects like heating and cracking, causing normal sound waves, and plasma formation outside the surface, giving rise to shockwaves. Examples are presented for single-shot ablation with 14 ns laser pulses of 248 nm wavelength. In particular, ablation studies of Ni films of varying thicknesses disclose a quantitative correlation between threshold fluences and thermal properties like heat diffusion, melting, and evaporation. In contrast, for Cr films a simple thermodynamic model fails because the films crack before melting and vaporizing.

Laser damage thresholds of optical coatings at 0.351 µm

Laser damage thresholds of optical coatings at 0.351 µm