High laser damage threshold coatings and damage testing technology

The laser-induced damage threshold(LIDT) of optical coating is a limited factor for development of a high peak power laser. The automatic damage testing facility was built to determine the LIDT of optics at 1 064 nm and 355 nm.. The cleanning and processing procedure of the substrate and coating technique were improved, and the damage resistance of high-reflective coating at 1 064 nm was increased.

Mechanism of micro-waviness induced KH_2PO_4 crystal laser damage and the corresponding vibration source

The low laser induced damage threshold of the KH2PO4 crystal seriously restricts the output power of inertial confinement fusion.The micro-waviness on the KH2PO4 surface processed by single point diamond turning has a significant influence on the damage threshold.In this paper,the influence of micro-waviness on the damage threshold of the KH2PO4 crystal and the chief sources introducing the micro-waviness are analysed based on the combination of the Fourier modal theory and the power spectrum density method.Research results indicate that among the sub-wavinesses with different characteristic spatial frequencies there exists the most dangerous frequency which greatly reduces the damage threshold,although it may not occupy the largest proportion in the original surface.The experimental damage threshold is basically consistent with the theoretical calculation.For the processing parameters used,the leading frequency of micro-waviness which causes the damage threshold to decrease is between 350-1 μm-1 and 30-1 μm-1,especially between 90-1 μm-1 and 200-1 μm-1.Based on the classification study of the time frequencies of microwaviness,we find that the axial vibration of the spindle is the chief source introducing the micro-waviness,nearly all the leading frequencies are related to the practical spindle frequency（about 6.68 Hz,400 r/min） and a special middle frequency（between 1.029 Hz and 1.143 Hz）.

Improvement of laser damage thresholds of fused silica by ultrasonic-assisted hydrofluoric acid etching

Polished fused silica samples were etched for different durations by using hydrofluoric（HF） acid solution with HF concentrations in an ultrasonic field. Surface and subsurface polishing residues and molecular structure parameters before and after the etching process were characterized by using a fluorescence microscope and infrared（IR） spectrometer, respectively. The laser induced damage thresholds（LIDTs） of the samples were measured by using pulsed nanosecond laser with wavelength of 355 nm. The results showed that surface and subsurface polishing residues can be effectively reduced by the acid etching process, and the LIDTs of fused silica are significantly improved. The etching effects increased with the increase of the HF concentration from 5 wt.% to 40 wt.%. The amount of polishing residues decreased with the increase of the etching duration and then kept stable. Simultaneously, with the increase of the etching time, the mechanical strength and molecular structure were improved.

Temperature dependences of optical properties,chemical composition,structure,and laser damage in Ta_2O_5 films

Ta2O5 films are prepared by e-beam evaporation with varied deposition temperatures, annealing temperatures, and annealing times. The effects of temperature on the optical properties, chemical composition, structure, and laser- induced damage threshold （LIDT） are systematically investigated. The results show that the increase of deposition temperature decreases the film transmittance slightly, yet annealing below 923 K is beneficial for the transmittance. The XRD analysis reveals that the film is in the amorphous phase when annealed below 873 K and in thehexagonal phase when annealed at 1073 K. While an interesting near-crystalline phase is found when annealed at 923 K. The LIDT increases with the deposition temperature increasing, whereas it increases firstly and then decreases as the annealing temperature increases. In addition, the increase of the annealing time from 4 h to 12 h is favourable to improving the LIDT, which is mainly due to the improvement of the O/Ta ratio. The highest LIDT film is obtained when annealed at 923 K, owing to the lowest density of defect.

Surface defects,stress evolution,and laser damage enhancement mechanism of fused silica under oxygen-enriched condition

Oxygen ions(O;)were implanted into fused silica at a fixed fluence of 1×10^(17) ions/cm^(2) with different ion energies ranging from 10 ke V to 60 ke V.The surface roughness,optical properties,mechanical properties and laser damage performance of fused silica were investigated to understand the effect of oxygen ion implantation on laser damage resistance of fused silica.The ion implantation accompanied with sputtering effect can passivate the sub-/surface defects to reduce the surface roughness and improve the surface quality slightly.The implanted oxygen ions can combine with the structural defects(ODCs and E′centers)to reduce the defect densities and compensate the loss of oxygen in fused silica surface under laser irradiation.Furthermore,oxygen ion implantation can reduce the Si-O-Si bond angle and densify the surface structure,thus introducing compressive stress in the surface to strengthen the surface of fused silica.Therefore,the laser induced damage threshold of fused silica increases and the damage growth coefficient decreases when ion energy up to30 ke V.However,at higher ion energy,the sputtering effect is weakened and implantation becomes dominant,which leads to the surface roughness increase slightly.In addition,excessive energy aggravates the breaking of Si-O bonds.At the same time,the density of structural defects increases and the compressive stress decreases.These will degrade the laser laser-damage resistance of fused silica.The results indicate that oxygen ion implantation with appropriate ion energy is helpful to improve the damage resistance capability of fused silica components.

Residual stress modeling of mitigated fused silica damage sites with CO_(2)laser annealing

A numerical model based on measured fictive temperature distributions is explored to evaluate the residual stress fields of CO_(2)laser-annealed mitigated fused silica damage sites.The proposed model extracts the residual strain from the differences in thermoelastic contraction of fused silica with different fictive temperatures from the initial frozen-in temperatures to ambient temperature.The residual stress fields of mitigated damage sites for the CO_(2)laser-annealed case are obtained by a finite element analysis of equilibrium equations and constitutive equations.The simulated results indicate that the proposed model can accurately evaluate the residual stress fields of laser-annealed mitigated damage sites with a complex thermal history.The calculated maximum hoop stress is in good agreement with the reported experimental result.The estimated optical retardance profiles from the calculated radial and hoop stress fields are consistent with the photoelastic measurements.These results provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate the suitability of the proposed model for describing the residual stresses of mitigated fused silica damage sites after CO_(2)laser annealing.

Damage and fracture behavior and spatio-temporal evolution of acoustic emission of sandstone before and after laser radiation

Laser technology holds significant promise for enhancing rock-breaking efficiency.Experimental investigations were carried out on sandstone subjected to laser radiation,aiming to elucidate its response mechanism to such radiation.The uniaxial compressive strength of sandstone notably decreases by 22.1%–54.7%following exposure to a 750 W laser for 30 s,indicating a substantial weakening effect.Furthermore,the elastic modulus and Poisson ratio of sandstone exhibit an average decrease of 33.7%and 25.9%,respectively.Simultaneously,laser radiation reduces the brittleness of sandstone,increases the dissipated energy proportion,and shifts the failure mode from tensile to tension-shear composite failure.Following laser radiation,both the number and energy of acoustic emission events in the sandstone register a substantial increase,with a more dispersed distribution of these events.In summary,laser radiation induces notable damage to the mechanical properties of sandstone,leading to a substantial decrease in elastic energy storage capacity.Laser rock breaking technology is expected to be applied in hard rock breaking engineering to significantly reduce the difficulty of rock breaking and improve rock breaking efficiency.

Postprocessing treatments to improve the laser damage resistance of fused silica optical surfaces and SiO_2 coatings

The combination of deep wet etching and a magneto-rheological finishing （MRF） process is investigated to simultaneously improve laser damage resistance of a fused-silica surface at 355 nm. The subsequently deposited SiO2 coatings are researched to clarify the impact of substrate finishing technology on the coatings. It is revealed that a deep removal proceeding from the single side or double side had a significant impact on the laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） of the fused silica, especially for the rear surface. After the deep etching, the MRF process that followed does not actually increase the LIDT, but it does ameliorate the surface qualities without additional LIDT degradation. The combination guarantee both the integrity of the surface＇s finish and the laser damage resistance of the fused silica and subsequent SiO2 coatings.

Femtosecond laser damage of broadband pulse compression gratings

The fabricated gratings used for an 800-nm compressed laser pulse have more than 90% di?raction e?ciency in the –1st order for TE polarization within 760–860 nm, and the maximum value is 94.3%. The laserinduced damage threshold(LIDT) of the gratings increases from 0.53 to 0.75 J/cm 2 in the normal beam in a pulse width τ of 40–100 fs. The LIDT of the gratings is observed a τ 0. 25 scaling in the pulse width region. The damage morphologies of the gratings indicate that the initial damage of the gratings locates at the grating lines, a position that coincides with that of the electric field maximum.

Vulnerability assessment of UAV engine to laser based on improved shotline method

Laser anti-drone technology is entering the sequence of actual combat,and it is necessary to consider the vulnerability of typical functional parts of UAVs.Since the concept of"vulnerability"was proposed,a variety of analysis programs for battlefield targets to traditional weapons have been developed,but a comprehensive assessment methodology for targets'vulnerability to laser is still missing.Based on the shotline method,this paper proposes a method that equates laser beam to shotline array,an efficient vulnerability analysis program of target to laser is established by this method,and the program includes the circuit board and the wire into the vulnerability analysis category,which improves the precision of the vulnerability analysis.Taking the UAV engine part as the target of vulnerability analysis,combine with the"life-death unit method"to calculate the laser penetration rate of various materials of the UAV,and the influence of laser weapon system parameters and striking orientation on the killing probability is quantified after introducing the penetration rate into the vulnerability analysis program.The quantitative analysis method proposed in this paper has certain general expansibility,which can provide a fresh idea for the vulnerability analysis of other targets to laser.

Optical facet coatings for high-performance LWIR quantum cascade lasers atλ∼8.5μm

We report on the performance improvement of long-wave infrared quantum cascade lasers(LWIR QCLs)by studying and optimizing the anti-reflection(AR)optical facet coating.Compared to the Al2O3 AR coat⁃ing,the Y_(2)O_(3)AR coating exhibits higher catastrophic optical mirror damage(COMD)level,and the optical facet coatings of both material systems have no beam steering effect.A 3-mm-long,9.5-μm-wide buried-heterostruc⁃ture(BH)LWIR QCL ofλ~8.5μm with Y_(2)O_(3)metallic high-reflection(HR)and AR of~0.2%reflectivity coating demonstrates a maximum pulsed peak power of 2.19 W at 298 K,which is 149%higher than that of the uncoated device.For continuous-wave(CW)operation,by optimizing the reflectivity of the Y_(2)O_(3)AR coating,the maximum output power reaches 0.73 W,which is 91%higher than that of the uncoated device.

Damage Detection and Material Property Reconstruction of Composite Laminates Using Laser Ultrasonic Technique

Laser ultrasonic technique has received increasing attentions in the past decade due to its contactless nature and a wide range of applications have been reported. In this review,applications of laser ultrasonic technique developed at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics(NUAA)as well as elsewhere for non-destructive testing in composite laminates are presented. The principles of generating and detecting in a laser ultrasonic system are introduced,three different system configurations are also introduced with each configuration's advantages and disadvantages explained. More importantly,two major applications developed at NUAA for composite laminates are presented including damage detection,stiffness reconstruction and fatigue life prediction. Both applications are realized by a fixed-point PZT sensor and scanning pulse laser based on the linear reciprocal theorem. Analytical method and numerical models are employed and developed to realize the functionalities.

Laser Protection with VO_2 Film

This paper presents the principle,properties,advantage and disadvantage,associated problems and trend of laser protection with VO 2 film for infrared detectors in the range of 3～5μm and 8～12μm regions and suggests VO 2 film is a potential protection material for infrared detectors.

Two localized CO_2 laser treatment methods for mitigation of UV damage growth in fused silica

Two methods：high-power,short-time,single-shot irradiation（Method A） and low-power,long-time,multi-shot irradiation（Method B） are investigated to mitigate the UV damage growth in fused silica by using a 10.6-μm CO2 laser.To verify the mitigation effect of the two methods,the laser induced damage thresholds（LIDTs） of the mitigated sites are tested with a 355-nm,6.4-ns Nd：YAG laser,and the light modulation of the mitigation sites are tested with a 351-nm continuous Nd：YLF laser.The mitigated damaged sites treated with the two methods have almost the same LIDTs,which can recover to the level of pristine material.Compared with Method A,Method B produces mitigated sites with low crater depth and weak light modulation.In addition,there is no raised rim or re-deposited debris formed around the crater edge for Method B.Theoretical calculation is utilized to evaluate the central temperature of the CO2 laser beam irradiated zone and the radius of the crater.It is indicated that the calculated results are consistent with the experimental results.

Effect of subsurface impurity defects on laser damage resistance of beam splitter coatings

The laser-induced damage threshold(LIDT)of plate laser beam splitter(PLBS)coatings is closely related to the subsurface absorption defects of the substrate.Herein,a two-step deposition temperature method is proposed to understand the effect of substrate subsurface impurity defects on the LIDT of PLBS coatings.Firstly,BK7 substrates are heat-treated at three different temperatures.The surface morphology and subsurface impurity defect distribution of the substrate before and after the heat treatment are compared.Then,a PLBS coating consisting of alternating HfO2–Al2O3 mixture and SiO2 layers is designed to achieve a beam-splitting ratio(transmittance to reflectance,s-polarized light)of approximately 50:50 at 1053 nm and an angle of incidence of 45◦,and it is prepared under four different deposition processes.The experimental and simulation results show that the subsurface impurity defects of the substrate migrate to the surface and accumulate on the surface during the heat treatment,and become absorption defect sources or nodule defect seeds in the coating,reducing the LIDT of the coating.The higher the heat treatment temperature,the more evident the migration and accumulation of impurity defects.A lower deposition temperature(at which the coating can be fully oxidized)helps to improve the LIDT of the PLBS coating.When the deposition temperature is 140◦C,the LIDT(s-polarized light,wavelength:1064 nm,pulse width:9 ns,incident angle:45◦)of the PLBS coating is 26.2 J/cm2,which is approximately 6.7 times that of the PLBS coating deposited at 200◦C.We believe that the investigation into the laser damage mechanism of PLBS coatings will help to improve the LIDT of coatings with partial or high transmittance at laser wavelengths.

Modified porous silica antireflective coatings with laser damage resistance for Ti:sapphire

Porous SiO2 antireflective (AR) coatings are prepared from the colloidal silica solution modified with methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) based on the sol-gel route. The viscosity of modified silica suspensions changes but their stability keeps when MTES is introduced. The refractive indices of modified coatings vary little after bake treatment from 100 to 150℃. The modified silica coatings on Ti:sapphire crystal, owning good homogeneity, display prominent antireflective effect within the laser output waveband (750-850 nm) of Ti:sapphire lasers, with average transmission above 98.6%, and own laser induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) of more than 2.2 J/cm2 at 800 nm with the pulse duration of 300 ps.

Influence of coating material on laser damage threshold of TiO_2 films

The optical property, structure, surface properties （roughness and defect density） and laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） of TiO2 films deposited by electronic beam （EB） evaporation of TiO2 （rutile）, TiO2 （anatase） and TiO2 ＋ Ta205 composite materials are comparatively studied. All films show the polycrystalline anatase TiO2 structure. The loose sintering state and phase transformation during evaporating TiO2 anatase slice lead to the high surface defect density, roughness and extinction coefficient, and low LIDT of films. The TiO2 ＋ Ta205 composite films have the lowest extinction coefficient and the highest LIDT among all samples investigated. Guidance of selecting materials for high LIDT laser mirrors is given.

Accurate analysis of limiting human dose of non-lethal laser weapons

In order to maximize the lethality and reversibility of the non-lethal laser weapons(NLLW) at the same time and thus provide a theoretical basis for the R&D of laser weapons in the future,this paper accurately analyzed the limiting biological dose of irreversible damage to human skin caused by the NLLW.Firstly,based on the burn theory in medicine and the actual tactical background,this paper redefines the evaluation criteria of the limiting laser dose of NLLW to the human body.Secondly,on the basis of anatomical knowledge,a 5-layer finite element model(FEM) of superficial skin is proposed,constructed and verified,which can accurately describe the limiting reversible damage.Based on the optimized Pennes bioheat transfer equation,the diffusion approximation theory,the modified Beer-Lambert law,the Arrhenius equation,and combined with dynamic thermophysical parameters,this paper highly restored the temperature distribution and accurately solved the necrotic tissue distribution inside the human skin irradiated by 1064 nm laser.Finally,it is concluded that the maximum human dose of the1064 nm NLLW is 8.93 J/cm^(2),8.29J/cm^(2),and 8.17 J/cm^(2) when the light spots are 5 mm,10 mm and15 mm,respectively,and the corresponding output power of the weapon is 46.74 W,173.72 W and384.77 W.Simultaneously,the temperature and damage distribution in the tissue at the time of ultimate damage are discussed from the axial and radial dimensions,respectively.The conclusions and analysis methods proposed in this paper are of great guiding significance for future research in military,medical and many other related fields.

Automated damage diagnostic system for laser damage threshold tests

An automated damage diagnostic system for collecting plasma flash is developed to diagnose damage in a laser-induced damage threshold（LIDT） test system.Experiment is done to verify the accuracy of this system and analyze the relationship between the plasma signals and the damage morphologies.The results obtained by the system are found to be in excellent agreement with those obtained by the much laborious method of Normaski microscope.Results show that plasma signals above 1 V correspond to the damage morphology of surface discolorations with or without pits in their centers,and plasma signals below or just around 1 V correspond to the damage morphology of pits.The misdiagnosis is attributed to contaminations and air breakdown.

Laser Device for the Protection of Biological Objects from the Damaging Action of Ionizing Radiation

Laser irradiation device for the protection of biological objects from the action of ionizing radiation to be used in practice has been manufactured （invention patent RU 2 428 228 C2）. Research of the action of y-radiation itself as well as of the combined action of laser devices on survival, weight, skin and the general mitotic index of the bone marrow cells （mitotic index of all nucleus-containing cells of the bone marrow） of C57BL/6 experimental young mice was carried out. The mice were irradiated with ionizing （whole body irradiation） and laser radiation, separately one by one in a special frame device. Laser radiation in the dose 1 mJ/cm^2 irradiated only the back of a mouse, or both the back and the abdomen of mice. In case of combined irradiation of mice, the time interval between two types of irradiation did not exceed 30 min. First, the mice were exposed to y-radiation then to laser radiation. The method of the laser radiation-protection of biological subjects contributes to an increase in the viability of mice, prevents the damages of skin and also increases the mitotic activity of mice bone marrow cells.