The effect of CO2 laser annealing on residual stress and on laser damage resistance for fused silica optics

P. Cormont; L. Gallais; L. Lamaignère; T. Donval; J. L. Rullier

doi:10.1117/12.867237

29 November 2010 The effect of CO₂ laser annealing on residual stress and on laser damage resistance for fused silica optics

P. Cormont, L. Gallais, L. Lamaignère, T. Donval, J. L. Rullier

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7842, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2010; 78422C (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.867237
Event: Laser Damage Symposium XLII: Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High Power Lasers, 2010, Boulder, Colorado, United States

Abstract

CO₂ laser is used to prolong the lifetime of large optics for high power lasers such as the NIF and LMJ. Indeed, on silica optical components, damaged sites, whose diameter is in the order of tens of microns, appear at high UV laser fluence, and the size of such sites increases exponentially with each UV laser shot. An intense heat by CO₂ laser ejects the material from the surface of the optical component and removes all fractures around the damaged site so that this site will not be damaged at fluences of operation of the UV laser. A crater is formed at the site of initial damage. But the intense heat creates debris and residual stress around this crater. Due to these debris and stress, the optical component is again weakened. We show here that a second heating process, done with different settings of the CO₂, named here laser annealing, eliminates the debris and reduce stress. The results presented here establish that annealing significantly improves the resistance of laser optics.

Citation Download Citation

P. Cormont, L. Gallais, L. Lamaignère, T. Donval, and J. L. Rullier "The effect of CO₂ laser annealing on residual stress and on laser damage resistance for fused silica optics", Proc. SPIE 7842, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2010, 78422C (29 November 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.867237

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