J. D. Bude

Fracture-induced subbandgap absorption as a precursor to optical damage on fused silica surfaces

The optical damage threshold of indentation-induced flaws on fused silica surfaces was explored. Mechanical flaws were characterized by laser damage testing, as well as by optical, secondary electron, and photoluminescence microscopy. Localized polishing, chemical leaching, and the control of indentation morphology were used to isolate the structural features that limit optical damage. A thin defect layer on fracture surfaces, including those smaller than the wavelength of visible light, was found to be the dominant source of laser damage initiation during illumination with 355 nm, 3 ns laser pulses. Little evidence was found that either displaced or densified material or fluence intensification plays a significant role in optical damage at fluences >35 J/cm(2). Elimination of the defect layer was shown to increase the overall damage performance of fused silica optics.

High fluence laser damage precursors and their mitigation in fused silica

The use of any optical material is limited at high fluences by laser-induced damage to optical surfaces. In many optical materials, the damage results from a series of sources which initiate at a large range of fluences and intensities. Much progress has been made recently eliminating silica surface damage due to fracture-related precursors at relatively low fluences (i.e., less than 10 J/cm(2), when damaged by 355 nm, 5 ns pulses). At higher fluence, most materials are limited by other classes of damage precursors which exhibit a strong threshold behavior and high areal density (>10(5) cm(-2)); we refer to these collectively as high fluence precursors. Here, we show that a variety of nominally transparent materials in trace quantities can act as surface damage precursors. We show that by minimizing the presence of precipitates during chemical processing, we can reduce damage density in silica at high fluence by more than 100 times while shifting the fluence onset of observable damage by about 7 J/cm(2). A better understanding of the complex chemistry and physics of cleaning, rinsing, and drying will likely lead to even further improvements in the damage performance of silica and potentially other optical materials.

Laser Damage Precursors in Fused Silica

There is a longstanding, and largely unexplained, correlation between the laser damage susceptibility of optical components and both the surface quality of the optics, and the presence of near surface fractures in an optic. In the present work, a combination of acid leaching, acid etching, and confocal time resolved photoluminescence (CTP) microscopy has been used to study laser damage initiation at indentation sites. The combination of localized polishing and variations in indentation loads allows one to isolate and characterize the laser damage susceptibility of densified, plastically flowed and fractured fused silica. The present results suggest that: 1) laser damage initiation and growth are strongly correlated with fracture surfaces, while densified and plastically flowed material is relatively benign, and 2) fracture events result in the formation of an electronically defect rich surface layer which promotes energy transfer from the optical beam to the glass matrix.

The effect of laser pulse duration on laser-induced damage in KDP and SiO2

We examine the effect of pulse duration on both density and morphology of laser-induced damage in KDP and SiO2. In both materials the density of damage sites scales with pulse duration to the ~ 0.4 power for 351-nm pulses between 1 and 10 ns. In SiO2 three types of damage sites are observed. The sizes of the largest of these sites as well as the size of KDP damage sites scale approximately linearly with pulse duration. Similarities of damage in very different materials points to properties of laser-induced damage which are material independent and give insight to the underlying physics of laser-induced damage.

Thermal annealing of laser damage precursors on fused silica surfaces

Abstract. Previous studies have identified two significant precursors of laser damage on fused silica surfaces at fluences <35  J/cm2: photoactive impurities from polishing and surface fractures. We evaluate isothermal heating as a means of remediating the defect structure associated with surface fractures. Vickers indentations are applied to silica surfaces at loads between 0.5 and 10 N, creating fracture networks. The indentations are characterized before and following thermal annealing under various time and temperature conditions using confocal time-resolved photo-luminescence (CTP) imaging, and R/1 damage testing with 3-ns, 355-nm laser pulses. Improvements in the damage thresholds with reductions in CTP intensity are observed at temperatures well below the glass transition temperature (Tg). The damage threshold on 0.5-N indentations improves from <8 to >35  J/cm2 after annealing at approximately 750°C. Larger fracture networks require longer or higher temperature treatment to achieve similar results. At an annealing temperature >1100°C, optical microscopy indicates morphological changes in some of the fractures surrounding the indentations, although remnants of the original fractures are still observed. We demonstrate the potential of using isothermal annealing to improve the laser damage resistance of silica optics, and provide a means of further understanding the physics of optical damage and mitigation.

The effect of lattice temperature on surface damage in fused silica optics

We examine the effect of lattice temperature on the probability of surface damage initiation for 355nm, 7ns laser pulses for surface temperatures below the melting point to temperatures well above the melting point of fused silica. At sufficiently high surface temperatures, damage thresholds are dramatically reduced. Our results indicate a temperature activated absorption and support the idea of a lattice temperature threshold of surface damage. From these measurements, we estimate the temperature dependent absorption coefficient for intrinsic silica.

Mitigation of organic laser damage precursors from chemical processing of fused silica

Increases in the laser damage threshold of fused silica have been driven by the successive elimination of near-surface damage precursors such as polishing residue, fractures, and inorganic salts. In this work, we show that trace impurities in ultrapure water used to process fused silica optics may be responsible for the formation of carbonaceous deposits. We use surrogate materials to show that organic compounds precipitated onto fused silica surfaces form discrete damage precursors. Following a standard etching process, solvent-free oxidative decomposition using oxygen plasma or high-temperature thermal treatments in air reduced the total density of damage precursors to as low as <50 cm(-2). Finally, we show that inorganic compounds are more likely to cause damage when they are tightly adhered to a surface, which may explain why high-temperature thermal treatments have been historically unsuccessful at removing extrinsic damage precursors from fused silica.

Damage modeling and statistical analysis of optics damage performance in MJ-class laser systems

Modeling the lifetime of a fused silica optic is described for a multiple beam, MJ-class laser system. This entails combining optic processing data along with laser shot data to account for complete history of optic processing and shot exposure. Integrating with online inspection data allows for the construction of a performance metric to describe how an optic performs with respect to the model. This methodology helps to validate the damage model as well as allows strategic planning and identifying potential hidden parameters that are affecting the optics performance.

Silica laser damage mechanisms, precursors, and their mitigation

Controlling laser damage is essential for reliable and cost-effective operation of high energy laser systems. We will review important optical damage precursors in silica up to UV fluences as high as 45J/cm2 (3ns) along with studies of the damage mechanisms involved and processes to mitigate damage precursors. We have found that silica surface damage is initiated by nano-scale precursor absorption followed by thermal coupling to the silica lattice and formation of a laser-supported absorption front. Residual polishing compound and defect layers on fracture surfaces are primarily responsible for optic damage below about 10J/cm2; they can be mitigated by an optimized oxide etch processes. At fluences above about 10J/cm2, precipitates of trace impurities are responsible for damage; they can be mitigated by eliminating the chances of impurity precipitation following wet chemical processing. Using these approaches, silica damage densities can be reduced by many orders of magnitude allowing large increases in the maximum operating fluences these optics see.

The effect of pulse duration on the growth rate of laser-induced damage sites at 351 nm on fused silica surfaces

Past work in the area of laser-induced damage growth has shown growth rates to be primarily dependent on the laser fluence and wavelength. More recent studies suggest that growth rate, similar to the damage initiation process, is affected by a number of additional parameters including pulse duration, pulse shape, site size, and internal structure. In this study, we focus on the effect of pulse duration on the growth rate of laser damage sites located on the exit surface of fused silica optics. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, a significant dependence of growth rate at 351 nm on pulse duration from 1 ns to 15 ns as τ0.3 for sites in the 50-100 μm size range.