Thin film contamination effects on laser-induced damage of fused silica surfaces at 355 nm
Fused silica windows were artificially contaminated to estimate the resistance of target chamber debris shields against laser damage during NIF operation. Uniform contamination thin films (1 to 5 nm thick) were prepared by sputtering various materials (Au, Al, Cu, and B4C). The loss of transmission of the samples was first measured. They were then tested at 355 nm in air with an 8-ns Nd:YAG laser. The damage morphologies were characterized by Nomarski optical microscopy and SEM. Both theory and experiments showed that metal contamination for films as thin as 1 nm leads to a substantial loss of transmission. The laser damage resistance dropped very uniformly across the entire surface (e.g. 6 J/cm2 for 5 nm of Cu). The damage morphology characterization showed that contrary to clean silica, metal coated samples did not produce pits on the surface. B4C coated silica, on the other hand, led to a higher density of such damage pits. A model for light absorption in the thin film was coupled with a simple heat deposition and diffusion model to perform preliminary theoretical estimates of damage thresholds. The estimates of the loss due to light absorption and reflection pointed out significant .differences between metals (e.g. Al and Au). The damage threshold predictions were in qualitative agreement with experimental measurements.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Defense Programs (DP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-Eng-48
- OSTI ID:
- 3537
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-128360; 39DP02000; ON: DE00003537
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Third Annual International Conference on Solid State Lasers for Application (SSLA) to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), Monterey, CA, June 7-12, 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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