Nanosecond laser conditioning of multilayer dielectric gratings for picosecond–petawatt laser systems

Multilayer dielectric gratings(MLDGs)are crucial for pulse compression in picosecond-petawatt laser systems.Bulged nodular defects,embedded in coating stacks during multilayer deposition,influence the lithographic process and performance of the final MLDG products.In this study,the integration of nanosecond laser conditioning(NLC)into different manufacturing stages of MLDGs was proposed for the first time on multilayer dielectric films(MLDFs)and final grating products to improve laser-induced damage performance.The results suggest that the remaining nodular ejection pits introduced by the two protocols exhibit a high nanosecond laser damage resistance,which remains stable when the irradiated laser fluence is more than twice the nanosecond-laser-induced damage threshold(nanosecond-LIDT)of the unconditioned MLDGs.Furthermore,the picosecond-LIDT of the nodular ej ection pit conditioned on the MLDFs was approximately 40%higher than that of the nodular defects,and the loss of the grating structure surrounding the nodular defects was avoided.Therefore,NLC is an effective strategy for improving the laser damage resistance of MLDGs.

Study on guided-mode resonance characteristic of multilayer dielectric grating with broadband and wide using-angle

Guided-mode resonance in a diffraction band of multilayer dielectric gratings may lead to a catastrophic result in laser system, especially in the ultrashort pulse laser system, so the inhibition of guided-mode resonance is very important. In this paper the characteristics of guided-mode resonance in multilayer dielectric grating are studied with the aim of better understanding the physical process of guided-mode resonance and designing a broadband multilayer dielectric grating with no guided-mode resonance. By employing waveguide theory, all guided-wave modes appearing in multilayer dielectric grating are found, and the incident conditions, separately, corresponding to each guided-wave mode are also obtained. The electric field enhancement in multilayer dielectric grating is shown obviously. Furthermore, from the detailed analyses on the guided-mode resonance conditions, it is found that the reduction of the grating period would effectively avoid the appearing of guided-mode resonance. And the expressions for calculating maximum periods, which ensure that no guided-mode resonance occurs in the requiring broad angle or wavelength range, are first reported. The above results calculated by waveguide theory and Fourier mode method are compared with each other, and they are coincident completely. Moreover, the method that relies on waveguide theory is more helpful for understanding the guided-mode resonance excited process and analyzing how each parameter affects the characteristic of guided-mode resonance. Therefore, the effects of multilayer dielectric grating parameters, such as period, fill factor, thickness of grating layer, et al., on the guided-mode resonance characteristic are discussed in detail based on waveguide theory, and some meaningful results are obtained.

Analysis of restriction factors of widening diffraction bandwidth of multilayer dielectric grating

In order to design a multilayer dielectric grating with wide-bandwidth diffraction spectrum, the restriction factors of both the reflection bandwidth of multilayer dielectric high-reflectivity mirror and the guided-mode resonance phe- nomenon are studied in detail. The reflection characteristics of high-reflectivity mirror in zeroth and -lst transmitted diffraction orders are quantitatively evaluated. It is found that the reflection bandwidth of high-reflectivity mirror in -lst transmitted diffraction order, which determines the final diffraction bandwidth of multilayer dielectric grating, is evidently compressed. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the reducing of grating period is an effective approach to the elimination of guided mode resonance over a required broad band range both spectrally and angularly. In addition, the expressions for calculating the maximum period ensuring no guided mode resonance in the required bandwidth are derived. Finally, two high-efficiency pulse-compression gratings with broad-band are presented.

Multilayer dielectric grating pillar-removal damage induced by a picosecond laser

Multilayer dielectric gratings typically remove multiple-grating pillars after picosecond laser irradiation;however,the dynamic formation process of the removal is still unclear.In this study,the damage morphologies of multilayer dielectric gratings induced by an 8.6-ps laser pulse were closely examined.The damage included the removal of a single grating pillar and consecutive adjacent grating pillars and did not involve the destruction of the internal high-reflection mirror structure.Comparative analysis of the two damage morphological characteristics indicated the removal of adjacent pillars was related to an impact process caused by the eruption of localized materials from the left-hand pillar,exerting impact pressure on its adjacent pillars and eventually resulting in multiple pillar removal.A finite-element strain model was used to calculate the stress distribution of the grating after impact.According to the electric field distribution,the eruptive pressure of the dielectric materials after ionization was also simulated.The results suggest that the eruptive pressure resulted in a stress concentration at the root of the adjacent pillar that was sufficient to cause damage,corresponding to the experimental removal of the adjacent pillar from the root.This study provides further understanding of the laser-induced damage behavior of grating pillars and some insights into reducing the undesirable damage process for practical applications.