This paper deals with the study of characteristics of damage and damage onset of mirrors and substrates at 10.6 micrometers wavelength by means of photoacoustics using laser pulse irradiation with up to 10 pulses per on site. One group of the mirrors which have been investigated are commercially available polished uncoated Mo- and Cu- mirrors. A second set of mirrors consists of copper mirrors coated with NiCu, or Au_max, layer systems for enhanced reflectivity. NaCl and ZnSe substrates were selected as IR transparent materials. For measuring the photoacoustic waves generated by laser pulse irradiation, a piezoceramic detector is used. The amplified signal of the detector is sampled by a digital oscilloscope.

Date Published: 14 July 1995
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 2428, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1994, (14 July 1995);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2428:
Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1994
Harold E. Bennett; Arthur H. Guenther; Mark R. Kozlowski; Brian Emerson Newnam; M. J. Soileau, Editor(s)