Abstract
The useful output of high-power pulsed lasers is usually limited by laser-induced damage to optical components. The most vulnerable optical elements are normally thin-film dielectric coatings used to enhance or reduce surface reflectivities or control beam polarization. The damage thresholds of coated surfaces are typically factors of 2–4 below thresholds of uncoated surfaces; and these are In turn factors of 2–4 below the threshold for internal bulk damage of high-optical-quality transparent materials. The morphology of coating and surface damage indicates that damage is caused by absorption of energy from the laser pulse which heats a small volume of material to the point of fracture or melting. The sources of absorption depend on the substrate and coating materials and the way they are processed on the coating design and on the laser wavelength and pulse duration.
© 1985 Optical Society of America
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