Micro-defect is one of key limiting factors in the improvement of the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of thin films. In the present paper, thin films were prepared using the electron-beam evaporation technique with different coating materials and pre-melting processes. The relationships of thin film LIDT with impurity element content and with pre-melting processes were investigated. The experiment results indicate that a number of impurity elements play an important role in the LIDT of the samples. An efficient pre-melting process is necessary to maintain deposition stability, which could also reduce micro-defect density in thin films.

Date Published: 12 January 2012
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8206, Pacific Rim Laser Damage 2011: Optical Materials for High Power Lasers, 82060O (12 January 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.909849

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8206:
Pacific Rim Laser Damage 2011: Optical Materials for High Power Lasers
Jianda Shao, Editor(s)