Abstract

The development of new, more powerful laser systems in the last decades has been accompanied by an extensive research in the development of more laser-resistant coated components. Abrupt interfaces between deposited layers of such components have been shown to be the main cause of low laser-damage resistance. Indeed, defects and impurities concentrate at interfaces, and efforts have been concentrated on the development of new designs with smother interfaces. To perform those designs, like in “rugate” filters [1], binary oxide mixtures have been employed and the resulting components have shown a higher laser resistance in the infra-red range (IR). Moreover, oxide mixtures show interesting physical effects because in some cases, their properties are not simply a linear combination of both pure deposited materials [2], but the whole structure behaves as a new material with its own physical properties.

© 2013 IEEE