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Two kinds of polarizer coatings were prepared by electron beam evaporation, using HfO2 - SiO2 mixture and HfO2 as the high-refractive-index materials, respectively. The HfO2 - SiO2 mixture layer was implemented by coevaporating SiO2 and metal Hf, the materials were deposited at an oxygen atmosphere to achieve stoichiometric coatings. The certain HfO2 and SiO2 content ratio is controlled by adjusting the deposition rate of HfO2 and SiO2 using individual quartz crystal monitor. The spectral performance, surface and interfacial properties, as well as the laser-induced damage performance were studied and compared. Comparing with polarizer coating using HfO2 as high-refractive-index material, the polarizer coating using HfO2 - SiO2 mixture as high-refractive-index material shows better performance with broader polarizing bandwidth, lower surface roughness, better interfacial property while maintaining high laser-induced damage threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The origin, character, analysis and treatment of subsurface damage (SSD) were summarized in this paper. SSD, which was introduced to substrates by manufacture processes, may bring about the decrease of laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of substrates and thin films. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods for the measurement of SSD were used extensively because of their conveniences and reliabilities. The principle, experimental setup and some other technological details were given for total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM), high-frequency scanning acoustic microscopy (HFSAM) and laser-modulated scattering (LMS). However, the spatial resolution, probing depth and theoretic models of these NDE methods demanded further studies. Furthermore, effective surface treatments for minimizing or eliminating SSD were also presented in this paper. Both advantages and disadvantages of ion beam etching (IBE) and magnetorheological finishing (MRF) were discussed. Finally, the key problems and research directions of SSD were summarized. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Plate laser beam splitter (PLBS) coatings for intensity-splitting in high-power laser applications face increasing requirements, where the challenge is to simultaneously satisfy a given transmittance (T)/reflectivity (R) intensity-splitting ratio with a certain bandwidth, and a high laser damage threshold (LIDT). Traditionally, a given T/R ratio is achieved by using a non-quarter-wave design. We propose a quarter-wave design strategy for arbitrary T/R ratios by using mixture layers with tunable refractive index (n) and optical bandgap as high- n layers. Two quarter-wave PLBS coatings based on HfO 2 –Al 2 O 3 mixture with a designed T/R ratio of 50:50 are experimentally demonstrated and compared with the traditional PLBS coating. The mixture-based PLBS coating shows good spectral performance, low surface roughness, and high LIDT. For an s -polarized 8 ns pulse laser at a wavelength of 1064 nm, a mixture-based PLBS coating design can improve LIDT by a factor of ∼ 2 with a slightly wider bandwidth. This tunable mixture-based PLBS coating design strategy provides support for the increasingly high output power of high-power laser systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the design, fabrication and performance of an optimized one-dimensional subwavelength grating for use in 1064 nm wavelength laser systems. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) under the irradiation of 12 ns 1064 nm pulses on the grating was performed, and a higher LIDT was obtained compared with LIDT of traditional antireflective coatings. Laser irradiation produces some morphological modifications on grating. Light interferometric surface profiler, scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope were used to study these modifications, and these studies indicate the significant ablation and resolidification have occurred. To understand possible damage mechanisms, the role of electric field distribution inside the grating during the laser radiation process was investigated by a three-dimensional finite difference time-domain method, and the simulation result indicates the temperature distribution resulting from the internal electric field may be the main factor behind the damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Antireflective sub-wavelength structures with high laser-induced damage threshold on fused silica are fabricated using a self-assembly technique, in which a porous yttrium oxide film is deposited as a mask followed by alkaline etching. By controlling the etching time, several sub-wavelength structures with different height, density and diameter have been made. The best reflectance is less than 2.87% for wavelengths from 300 to 1000nm after 1.5h etching. The laser-induced damage threshold of the etched glass measured by a 10ns Nd:YAG laser at a wavelength of 532nm was as high as 30J/cm2 compared to 16J/cm2 of blank glass. The specular reflectance of structures matches the theoretical simulation using a thin-film multilayer model, and the results reveal that the shape of the structures is similar to the calculated parabolic shape. Achieving antireflective sub-wavelength structures on fused silica paves the way for applications in laser systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Influence of oxygen pressure and temperature on AlF3 films was characterized. [•] Alumina was detected and the formation mechanism was analyzed. [•] Samples prepared with oxygen contain more alumina, and the mechanical stress was reduced. [•] By introducing oxygen, extinctive coefficient was reduced and the refractive index was increased. [•] Samples prepared with certain oxygen pressure tend to be more laser resistant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] An optimized design of double stack HR coatings was proposed by adding SiO2 interlayer. [•] The LIDT of optimized coatings was 50% higher than that of conventional ones. [•] The residual stress and surface defects density were reduced in the optimized design. [•] Interlayer shields the influence of defects in oxides and stabilizes fluoride layers. [•] Higher LIDT was a result of decreased defect density and increased defect stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the pursuit for 355nm high laser resistant dielectric coatings, layer-pair number of 10 and 15 LaF3/AlF3 high reflectors with and without SiO2 undercoat were prepared on BK7 substrates. The results indicate considerable increase in 355nm laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) for samples with undercoat. The samples were analyzed in Normalized Electric Field Intensity distribution, total stress, damage depth and damage morphology, revealing that SiO2 undercoat benefits fluoride coatings by shielding substrate defects and reducing coating defects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]