Results of laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of fused silica, sapphire and Ti:Sa crystals in single shot mode in the femtosecond regime down to few optical cycles (< 10 fs) are presented. Different approaches to determine LIDT are described and compared. Our methodology yields accurate determination of damage/ablation threshold of any material (or component) irradiated by pulsed laser, as well as complementary physical results characterizing laser–matter interaction and/or concerning the deterministic character of femtosecond damage. It is shown that the abrupt decrease of both damage and ablation thresholds observed with ultra-short pulses (< 30 fs) is related to the significance of tunnel ionization in the ultrashort regime. Moreover, the results indicate that the laser damage occurrence is more deterministic below 30 fs.

Date Published: 7 May 2013
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 8780, High-Power, High-Energy, and High-Intensity Laser Technology; and Research Using Extreme Light: Entering New Frontiers with Petawatt-Class Lasers, 87800H (7 May 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2016754

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8780:
High-Power, High-Energy, and High-Intensity Laser Technology; and Research Using Extreme Light: Entering New Frontiers with Petawatt-Class Lasers
Georg Korn; Joachim Hein; Luis Oliveira Silva, Editor(s)