The MegaJoule laser being constructed at the CEA near Bordeaux (France) is designed to focus more than 1 MJ of energy of UV light, on a millimeter scale target in the centre of an experiment chamber. After amplification and transport at the wavelength of 1053 nm, frequency conversion at 351 nm is done with KH2PO4 crystals. The final optic assembly of this system is made up of large fused silica optics, working in transmission, that are used to convey, focus or shape the laser beam. When exposed to fluences of some joules per square centimeter at 351 nm within nanosecond pulse duration, fused silica optics can exhibit localized damage. Damage sites grow exponentially after further laser exposition and therefore dramatically limit the optic lifetime. The nature of the surface finishing process has been established to determine the lifetime of these components under high UV fluences (i.e. more than 5 J/cm2 for 3 ns pulses). Being able to reduce or eliminate the damage initiators such as subsurface cracks present in subsurface damage (SSD) layer of conventionally polished optical components aims this study. Magneto-rheological fluid finishing (MRF) is chosen as a final polishing tool to remove layers of material without inducing further damages. MRF enables to process optics with very small normal stresses applied to the surface during material removal and thus permits the elimination of the residual subsurface cracks. This study offers a better understanding of the efficiency of MRF polishing on the elimination of subsurface cracks in SSD layers.
The Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) facility has about 40 large optics per beam. For 22 bundles with 8 beams per bundle, it will contain about 7.000 optical components. First experiments are scheduled at the end of 2014. LMJ components are now being delivered. Therefore, a set of acceptance criteria is needed when the optical components are exceeding the specifications. This set of rules is critical even for a small non-conformance ratio. This paper emphasizes the methodology applied to check or re-evaluate the wavefront requirements of LMJ large optics. First we remind how LMJ large component optical specifications are expressed and we describe their corresponding impacts on the laser chain. Depending on the location of the component in the laser chain, we explain the criteria on the laser performance considered in our impact analyses. Then, we give a review of the studied propagation issues. The performance analyses are mainly based on numerical simulations with Miró propagation simulation software. Analytical representations for the wavefront allow to study the propagation downstream local surface or bulk defects and also the propagation of a residual periodic aberration along the laser chain. Generation of random phase maps is also used a lot to study the propagation of component wavefront/surface errors, either with uniform distribution and controlled rms value on specific spatial bands, or following a specific wavefront/surface Power Spectral Distribution (PSD).
KEYWORDS: Laser induced damage, Optical components, High power lasers, Fusion energy, Interferometry, Near field optics, Near field, Photodiodes, Image processing, Laser beam propagation
LIL and LMJ are two French high power lasers dedicated to fusion and plasma experiments. Mastering the
characteristics of the focal spots focused on the targets during the experiments is very important. In order to analyze the
focal spots in its high power lasers, the CEA has developed an independent set-up that enables to measure energy spatial
profiles over a 5 decade dynamic range by the means of several acquisitions taken at different power levels. The different
data sets are then stitched to obtain a high dynamic picture of the beam. The experiment can also be used as a photometer
enabling to measure the energy transmitted by an optical component. We used this set-up to study the effect of different
parameters on the energy spatial profile of the focal spots. We have measured the effect of laser damages (on the optical
components of the beam) on the energy scattered around the main focal spot. We also demonstrated that the level of this
scattered power can be calculated from a near-field picture of the beam or even with pictures of the damaged components
taken with an appropriate lighting.
An optical bench was developed to measure laser induced damage thresholds in 1:1 and S:1 modes on mirror
and grating samples. The laser based on Ti. Sapphire technology delivers Gaussian pulse of 500fs with a
maximal energy of 3mJ at 1057nm. The experimental setup can deliver on the sample a peak fluence of 9J/cm2
in right section of the beam with a spot size of 200μm (diameter at 1/e2).
Laser induced damage thresholds have been measured on several multidielectric samples produced with
different processes. We present in this paper the damage testing setup in details and give some of the obtained
results.
In this paper, we present various laser conditioning experiments which have been performed with KDP SHG and DKDP THG samples. The different conditioning facilities used delivered laser pulses at 351 nm in the nanosecond (from 3 to 12 ns) or in the sub-ns (600 ps) regime. Finally, the efficiency of the various conditioning protocols was compared: 526 nm-6 ns and 351 nm-3 ns damage tests were performed respectively on SHG and THG samples. The results show that laser-conditioning SHG KDP samples at 351 nm either with ns or sub-ns pulses allows reducing the laser damage density so that it becomes consistent with the specification of high power lasers. They also confirm that conditioning THG DKDP samples at 351 nm using sub-ns pulses is more efficient than using ns pulses.
The occurrence of filaments in fused silica irradiated by UV laser light is well described by the product of light Intensity by Length of propagation in the material. For a spatially gaussian peak, in the well-known treatment by Marburger et al, this product is predicted to depend upon input power and non linear index. At a wavelength of 355 or 351 nm, the compilation of our past and present measurements give a smaller critical intensity by length product, i.e. a higher non linear index, than previously measured.
These values of non linear parameters allow for the prediction of rear surface damage on thick windows. The predictions compare well with damage probability measurements. Even when the intensity is not high enough to generate filaments, self-focusing is still the cause of damage, due to the increase of output intensity and fluence.
For high power laser applications like the "Laser Megajoule" facility under construction in France, laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) in fused silica is a limitation. CEA has made efforts to improve LIDT at the wavelength of 351 nm. Polishing and post polishing processes have been optimized. Laser damage sites density was decreased by several orders of magnitude by combining different fabrication steps. In order to further enhance optical laser resistance and to remove damaged sites on full-size optics, several small-beam raster scanning techniques have been studied and developed to condition fused silica optics. To stop the growth of damage sites, a continuous CO2 laser was used to re-melt them. Laser induced damage tests, performed on instrumented and automated facilities, are reported in order to check and illustrate the effectiveness of these treatments. Damage initiation studies as well as damage growth measurements are presented.
Variable experimental conditions were used to measure the occurrence of front surface, rear surface and filamentation damage in synthetic fused silica windows. Experiments were performed at 355 nm with a table-top beam of mm-size, and at 351 nm with ALISE laser, a 100 J installation. The 351 nm beam was about 3 cm wide at the entrance surface; it was single-mode temporally, with or without a frequency modulation which has the function of widening the spectrum to decrease Stimulated Brillouin Scattering. The 355 nm was single-mode temporally. Thin windows showed very scarce front damage and no filament damage at intensities which cause a high density of rear surface damage. Without any spectral widening, the thicker windows (4.3 cm) showed appreciable amount of front surface damage; filaments were observed and but no filaments. When a spectral modulation was added, front surface damage vanished, filaments and rear surface damage were observed.
The purpose of this paper is to gather experimental elements allowing for the prediction of laser damage on full size components installed on high power Nd-glass laser lines. Damage can initiated on material defects, which aren’t known in their nature, but the density of which can be measured. On transmissive optics, depending on the component thickness, and on the intensity distribution at the front surface, rear surface damage can also appear due to self-focusing of hot spots. These two contributions produce damage sites that are prone to grow. The growth rate has been shown to be proportional to the damaged area. The resulting exponential growth is the major limitation to the lifetime of optics. A representation of these phenomena in the plane Intensity/Fluence gives a practical description of the impact of laser damage on the lifetime of optical components. It also enlightens the comparison between different operating conditions.
Experiments have been performed to measure the rate of laser-induced damage growth at the rear surface of fused silica windows at 1064, 1053 and 351 nm. One test bench delivered 9 ns monomode gaussian pulses at 10 Hz and 1064 nm. The size of the focused beam on the sample was a few mm2. Another test bench delivered 2.5 ns single or multimode pulses at 1053 and 351 nm. The focused spot on the sample was a few cm2. We compare and discuss our laboratory experimental results, the larger scale ALISE laser data and other results obtained at LULI.
The functional lifetime of large aperture optical components used in high power lasers, like LIL and LMJ facilities, is mainly determined by laser damage measurements. We present experimental procedures and statistical analysis, made on small samples with mm-size beams, to determine damage densities and damage growth laws. The tests and analysis are compared to other results obtained with larger beams (few cm2) on large aperture components.
The functional lifetime of large aperture components used in high power lasers, like LIL and LMJ facilities, is mainly determined by laser damage measurements. Automatic damage test benches allow to obtain more data in less time than traditional tests. We present, first experimental procedures and statistical analysis made on small samples with mm-size beams, to determine damage densities and damage growth laws. The presented methods are the usual 1on1, Non1, Ron1 and Son1 tests and more specially the raster scan procedure. The tests and analysis are compared to other results obtained with larger beams (few cm2) on large optics. We show that the exact knowledge of each shot parameters (energy, surface and pulse duration) permits to determine the damage growth rate (and then to predict the lifetime of each optics), to precisely study self-focusing phenomenon and more to finely observe pre-damage-levels. In this way, the main parameters like fluence or intensity are associated to the observed phenomenon. Moreover laser beam diagnostics, many diagnostics used for the detection and the observation of damage occurrence are equally very important. It is also necessary to develop test procedures entirely computed which permit to scan all the surface of a component and to acquire in real time the beam parameters and the results of laser-matter interaction. Experimental results are reported to illustrate what could be achieved on an instrumented and automated facility.
Samples of Neodymium doped laser glass were irradiated by the 1ω beam of a Nd:glass laser that delivers up to 80 J during a 3-ns pulse duration. Prior to this experiment, platinum inclusions were revealed by a systematic scanning with a lab-scale Nd:Yag laser. The damage sites due to impurity inclusions were subjected to tens of shots of the centimeter-size beam. Several inclusions were irradiated by a series of shots, at a fixed fluence comprised between 10 and 20 J/cm2. The incidence on the optical component was taken at Brewster-angle. In each case, the damage zone began to grow, then the growth rate slowed down and finally stopped. Thus, a stabilization of the growth was obtained for this bulk damage as opposed to steady growth observed in the case of silica surfaces.
The growth of damage sites on the rear surface of fused silica plates was studied as a function of fluence and angle of incidence. At 1053 nm, a 70 J beam, 3 ns in pulselength, was directed to a 5 cm2 zone on a bare fused silica window. Initiation and growth was observed. The growth of previously initiated sites was also studied. Growth is exponential in nature. The experiments allow for the determination of the growth coefficient as a function of fluence. At 355 nm, damage sites were irradiated at various angles of incidence, with a tripled Nd:Yag laser, spatially Gaussian, 2.5 ns in pulselength. By fitting growth with an exponential law, it was determined that the relevant fluence for growth was that taken inside the material.
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