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Previous studies have shown that nanometer scale defects can lead to the formation of submicrometer craters, if located in coatings with a relatively small thickness. Due to the small size, such damages are challenging to detect in the online and offline damage detection and may therefore lead to an overestimation of the LIDT for the tested optical component. However, the influence of these nanopits on the optical properties and the impact on the initiation of catastrophic damage was not investigated in detail in the past. In order to study the correlation between nanopits, optical properties and catastrophic damage, samples with an AR-coating were fabricated by means of ion beam sputtering (IBS) and tested for their laser resistance by LIDT raster scans in the nanosecond regime at 355 nm. The generation and morphology changes of the nanopits were monitored for different pulse numbers and in dependence of the starting fluence. In addition to the inspection with an optical microscope in differential interference contrast (DIC) mode as prescribed by ISO 21254, alternative inspection methods, for example, dark field microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were used to detect the nanopits. The damage test revealed that nanopits occur rarely in standard AR-coatings and possess only a small relevance for the LIDT. The typical damage morphology observed consisted of micrometer-sized pits which exhibited a stable size over a large fluence range and no growth after repeated irradiation. © COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Investigating the properties of manufactured polymer optical fibers is essential to determine proper areas of application. Using pulsed laser radiation, especially with respect to laser activity in optical fibers, the maximum acceptable transmittable energy without inducing damage is of particular interest. Therefore, this work is related to laser-induced damage in polymer optical fibers at a wavelength of 532 nm and a pulse duration of 7.3 ns. In particular, the influence of the coupling condition on the transmittable pulse energy and the damage behavior applying an R-on-1 test procedure are analyzed in this study. The obtained results give information about the long-Term behavior and will be used to optimize the manufacturing process. © COPYRIGHT SPIE

Based on the z-scan method, an interferometric set-up for measuring the optical Kerr-effect was engineered and optimized. Utilizing a Mach-Zehnder configuration, the wave front deformation caused by the Kerr induced selffocusing is monitored. Fitting this deformation to a theoretical approach basing on a beam propagation model, the nonlinear refractive index is obtained. The procedure can be applied to measure the nonlinear refractive index of both, the substrate material as well as the deposited dielectric layer on top of the substrate. The nonlinear refractive index of a layer specially deposited for this purpose as well as for several substrate materials was measured and the results presented. © 2017 SPIE.

The exploitation of nonlinear effects in multi-layer thin films allows for optics with novel functions, such as all-optical switching and frequency conversion. In this contribution, an improved interferometric setup for the measurement of the nonlinear refractive index in dielectric substrates and deposited single layers is presented. The setup is based on the wave front deformation caused by the self-focusing in the measured samples. Additionally, measurement results for a highly nonlinear material, indium-Tin-oxide (ITO) are presented with respect to the materials power handling capabilities and compared to values from other materials. © COPYRIGHT SPIE

In many advanced fields of optical technology, progresses are extremely dependent on reliable characterization procedures employed for quality assessment in volume manufacturing as well as for the optimization of high performance optical components. With the rapid development of laser technology and modern optics, especially optical metrology gained of importance for the quality management in the industrial production environment and also for research in optical components. Besides absorption and scatter losses, the spectral characteristics and laser induced damage thresholds are considered nowadays as common quality factors, which are often indicated in optics catalogues and are considered by the customers for the design of optical systems. As a consequence of this trend, standardization of measurement procedures for the characterization of optical components became a crucial point for the optics industry and for critical applications of optical components in laser systems as well as conventional optical devices. During the last decade, adapted standard measurement techniques have been elaborated and discussed in the Technical Committee ISO/TC 172 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) resulting in practical International Standards or Draft Standards for the measurement of optical absorption, scattering, reflectance and laser induced damage thresholds. In this paper, the current state of standardized characterization techniques for optical components is summarized. Selected standards for the measurement of absorption (ISO 11551), scattering (ISO/DIS 13696) and laser induced damage thresholds (ISO/DIS 11254, Parts 1 and 2) will be described and discussed in view of recent trends in laser technology and its applications in semiconductor lithography.

Particles, which contaminate the substrate during thin film deposition, are prone to cause irremovable defects and demand special attention in the field of high precision laser optics as they can lead to localized absorption and laser damage. In this contribution, we present a camera based fully in-vacuum device which continuously monitors the coating surface of a transparent test substrate under dark field illumination. We show the possibilities of this setup regarding the sensitivity to small particles (diameter 1 μm). As the first operational test of the particle monitor, singe layers of HfO 2 are grown on fused silica. By analyzing the evolution of the scattering intensity of the particles, we derive their position in the substrate-coating-system. Therefore, this in situ particle detection concept can deliver data on which process step is responsible for particle generation in multilayer films and aims to be a tool to minimize coating defects. © COPYRIGHT SPIE.

Ultra-short laser applications require high quality dielectric optics. The natural dispersion of light needs to be matched by dielectric components. However such dispersive components are very challenging for the deposition process and are characterized by high field intensities inside the layer stack. Such layers are expected to diminish the possible laser induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) because of their low optical gap value for suitable high refractive index materials. This paper reports about the manufacturing of amorphous nanolaminates to tune the optical gap. Such sequences are substituted into a conventional high reflective mirror to decrease the electric field of binary Tantala layers by 30 % which correlates to an improvement in LIDT of almost 16%. © 2017 SPIE.

An established method for precise determination of optical absorption is the so called laser calorimetry. According to ISO 115511 laser calorimetry is preferred to other photothermal test methods, because of its capability to deliver absolute calibration. Many optical materials have low heat conductivity, which can affect the calibration significantly. The timeand spatial dependent temperature profile in a sample of materials with low heat conductivity requires accurate temperature measurement strategies to determine material-independent and absolutely calibrated absorption values. For thin cylindrical samples, ISO 11551 provides a strategy to compensate heat conductivity effects. The optimal temperature sensor position, where accordingly calibrated measurement results2 can be obtained, is simply based on the symmetric sample geometry. For thick geometries an additional temperature distribution along propagation direction of the heating beam must be considered. The current version of ISO 11551 does not provide a sophisticated solution for this problem, because the heating scheme of a sample is usually unknown. Therefore, a reliable calibration procedure can only be applied to samples of well-known absorption properties of surfaces and bulk material. Utilizing such kind of specifically prepared reference samples in combination with Finite Element Method (FEM) calculations, a general measurement and data evaluation concept based on laser calorimetry is presented, that allows deriving absolutely calibrated absorption measurement results for rectangular sample geometries. © 2017 SPIE.

The present contribution is addressed to an improved method to fabricate dielectric dispersive compensating mirrors (CMs) with an increased laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) by the use of ternary composite layers. Taking advantage of a novel in-situ phase monitor system, it is possible to control the sensitive deposition process more precisely. The study is initiated by a design synthesis, to achieve optimum reflection and GDD values for a conventional high low stack (HL)n. Afterwards the field intensity is analyzed, and layers affected by highest electric field intensities are exchanged by ternary composites of TaxSiyOz. Both designs have similar target specifications whereby one design is using ternary composites and the other one is distinguished by a (HL)n. The first layers of the stack are switched applying in-situ optical broad band monitoring in conjunction with a forward re-optimization algorithm, which also manipulates the layers remaining for deposition at each switching event. To accomplish the demanded GDD-spectra, the last layers are controlled by a novel in-situ white light interferometer operating in the infrared spectral range. Finally the CMs are measured in a 10.000 on 1 procedure according to ISO 21254 applying pulses with a duration of 130 fs at a central wavelength of 775 nm to determine the laser induced damage threshold. © 2016 SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. DFG/EXC/QUEST Volkswagen Stiftung BMBF/13N11558

The scientific background in the field of the laser induced damage processes in optical coatings has been significantly extended during the last decades. Especially for the ultra-short pulse regime a clear correlation between the electronic material parameters and the laser damage threshold could be demonstrated. In the present study, the quantization in nanolaminates is investigated to gain a deeper insight into the behavior of the blue shift of the bandgap in specific coating materials as well as to find approximations for the effective mass of the electrons. The theoretical predictions are correlated to the measurements. © 2016 SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony Volkswagen Stiftung

The modeling of the laser-induced damage processes can be divided into thermal and electronic processes. Especially, electronic damage seems to be well understood. In corresponding models, the damage threshold is linked to the excitation of valence electrons into the conduction band, and often the damage is obtained if a critical density of free electrons is exceeded. For the modeling of the electronic excitation, rate equation models are applied which can vary in the different terms representing different excitation channels. According to the current state of the art, photoionization and avalanche ionization contribute the major part to the ionization process, and consequently the determination of laser-induced damage thresholds is based on the calculation of the respective terms. For the theoretical description of both, well established models are available. For the quantitative calculation of the photoionization, the Keldysh theory is used most frequently, and for the avalanche processes the Drude theory is often applied. Both, Drude and Keldysh theory calculations depend on the laser frequency and use a monochromatic approach. For most applications the monochromatic description matches very well with the experimental findings, but in the range of few-cycle pulses the necessary broadening of the laser emission spectrum leads to high uncertainty for the calculation. In this paper, a novel polychromatic approach is presented including photo-and avalanche ionization as well as the critical electron density. The simulation combines different ionization channels in a Monte-Carlo procedure according to the frequency distribution of the spectrum. The resulting influence on the wavelength and material dependency is discussed in detail for various pulse shapes and pulse durations. The main focus of the investigation is concentrated on the specific characteristics in the dispersion and material dependency of the laser-induced damage threshold respecting the polychromatic characteristics of the ultra-short pulse (USP) laser damage. © 2016 SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony Volkswagen Stiftung

In this work tests for determination of ablation thresholds of various ceramic materials for pulsed laser irradiations at wavelengths of 355 nm and 1064 nm in vacuum are presented. For comparison tests with copper and aluminium are also reported. The ablation process was monitored insitu by long-distance microscopy. The morphology of ablation spots was exsitu inspected by scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the redeposition of potentially released particles on optics in the vicinity to the target was examined.

Contamination plays a major role in lifetime of vacuum optics. Several efforts have been made to derive suitable models for lifetime prediction in laser-induced contamination related optical breakdown. But the broad spectrum of potential contaminants present in the various applications with their very specific contamination mechanisms complicates the derivation of universal optics degradation models. As one possible contamination initiation process, the impact of optical absorption on the laser-induced contamination and resulting optical breakdown is studied in this work. A set of specifically prepared samples using nanometer sized gold particles embedded in dense IBS anti-reflecting coatings is exposed to radiation of 355nm in low pressure naphthalene atmosphere. Even though the artificial defects are not in direct contact with the contaminant, their influence on the long-term optics performance in dependence on the particle concentration in the coating is evident. In the presence of naphthalene, the artificial nano-defects cause a significantly accelerated degradation compared to reference samples without those defects or in absence of the contaminant. For this specific type of contaminant, a correlation of the optical absorption and long-term durability is derived.

Fused silica optics in the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors are extremely sensitive to optical scattering and absorption losses induced by both particulate and hydrocarbon contamination. At full power, the optical surfaces are illuminated with up to 200 kW/cm^2. Additionally, the round-trip test mass cavity loss budget is limited to 70 ppm total from all sources. Even low-level contaminants can result in laser damage to optics during the operation the interferometers, and/or the unacceptable reduction of overall detector sensitivity. These risks are mitigated by a two-pronged approach: quantifying contamination sources and the extent of contamination, then reducing sources and cleaning optics in-situ. As a result of these ongoing efforts, we now have a better understanding of what the contamination levels and sources are, and have made significant improvements to methods of controlling contamination, thus protecting the optics from losses and laser damage in the Advanced LIGO Interferometers.