The cost of a large laser system is a strong function of the overall electrical to final photon efficiency. To improve the stored energy and therefore the pumping efficiency of sophisticated and costly laser-glass amplifiers, we have developed a novel two-layer broadband antireflective coating for the blast-shield component. The blast-shield is an optic placed between the flashlamps and the laser disk amplifiers to prevent damage of laser disks by possible explosion of a flashlamp. The sol-gel antireflective coating was dip-coated at room temperature onto 8-cm diameter glass samples. The coating basically consisted of a halfwave- thick high-index material such as ZrO₂-PVP (PolyVinyl Pyrrolidone) and a quarterwave- thick low-index material such as SiO₂-siloxane. To improve the abrasion resistance of the coated part, a lubricating and water-repellent material was applied as a very thin overcoat. In addition to a 6.5 to 7.2% transmission gain over the spectrum of interest, the coating was moderately abrasion resistant and chemically durable. Flashlamp-induced damage to the antireflective coating for 1000 glow discharges at 10 to 12 J/cm² were minimal and similar to uncoated parts.

Date Published: 13 October 1994
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 2288, Sol-Gel Optics III, (13 October 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.188947

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2288:
Sol-Gel Optics III
John D. Mackenzie, Editor(s)