Improving laser damage resistance of 355 nm high-reflective coatings by co-evaporated interfaces

Nanolaminate-based design for UV laser mirror coatings

With ever-increasing laser power, the requirements for ultraviolet (UV) coatings increase continuously. The fundamental challenge for UV laser-resistant mirror coatings is to simultaneously exhibit a high reflectivity with a large bandwidth and high laser resistance. These characteristics are traditionally achieved by the deposition of laser-resistant layers on highly reflective layers. We propose a "reflectivity and laser resistance in one" design by using tunable nanolaminate layers that serve as an effective layer with a high refractive index and a large optical bandgap. An Al2O3-HfO2 nanolaminate-based mirror coating for UV laser applications is experimentally demonstrated using e-beam deposition. The bandwidth, over which the reflectance is >99.5%, is more than twice that of a traditional mirror with a comparable overall thickness. The laser-induced damage threshold is increased by a factor of ~1.3 for 7.6 ns pulses at a wavelength of 355 nm. This tunable, nanolaminate-based new design strategy paves the way toward a new generation of UV coatings for high-power laser applications.

Sol-Gel Preparation of Laser Damage Resistant and Moisture-Proof Antireflective Coatings for KDP Crystals

Surface fogging induced degradation has been a bottleneck problem in potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals due to they are grown from aqueous solution. In this paper, we developed a facile method to prepare a double-layer antireflective coating with moisture-proof and laser damage resistant properties for KDP crystals. The bottom layer was a poly siloxane coating with dense structure and silanol side groups, while the top layer was a hexamethyl-disilazane (HMDS) modified nanoporous SiO₂ coating. Both of the sols were nonalkaline and nonaqueous to make sure those are harmless to KDP crystals. The double-layer coated KDP crystal exhibited a maximum transmittance of 99.9% with an average increase of transmitted light of 6-7% over the wavelength range between 351 and 1053 nm. After exposure in a 55% relative humidity environment for 6 months, the double-layer HMDS_SiO₂/PS coating coated KDP crystal displayed nearly the same optical transmittance as the original one, whereas the single-layer HMDS_SiO₂ coated KDP crystal had a transmittance loss of ∼5%. Moreover, the laser-induced damage threshold of the double-layer coating on KDP crystal reached 11.5 J/cm² (355 nm, 3 ns). This multifunctional antireflective coating not only can be used for KDP crystals, but also can be applied to thermal-sensitive polymeric substrates.

Si-rich Silicon Nitride for Nonlinear Signal Processing Applications

Nonlinear silicon photonic devices have attracted considerable attention thanks to their ability to show large third-order nonlinear effects at moderate power levels allowing for all-optical signal processing functionalities in miniaturized components. Although significant efforts have been made and many nonlinear optical functions have already been demonstrated in this platform, the performance of nonlinear silicon photonic devices remains fundamentally limited at the telecom wavelength region due to the two photon absorption (TPA) and related effects. In this work, we propose an alternative CMOS-compatible platform, based on silicon-rich silicon nitride that can overcome this limitation. By carefully selecting the material deposition parameters, we show that both of the device linear and nonlinear properties can be tuned in order to exhibit the desired behaviour at the selected wavelength region. A rigorous and systematic fabrication and characterization campaign of different material compositions is presented, enabling us to demonstrate TPA-free CMOS-compatible waveguides with low linear loss (~1.5 dB/cm) and enhanced Kerr nonlinear response (Re{γ} = 16 Wm^-1). Thanks to these properties, our nonlinear waveguides are able to produce a π nonlinear phase shift, paving the way for the development of practical devices for future optical communication applications.

Optimal coating solution for a compact resonating cavity working at Brewster angle

In a compact Nd:Glass resonator, the laser that enters the gain medium at Brewster angle can work either for P-polarization or S-polarization, in which polarization the optical coatings possess higher laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was investigated. For the P-polarized configuration, only one high reflection (HR) coating on the rear surface of the Nd:Glass substrate is needed, and the laser-induced damage occurred near the substrate-coating interface at a fluence of 10 ± 2 J/cm² (1064nm 10ns). Although S-polarized configuration needs two coatings, one HR coating and one anti-reflection (AR) coating on the rear and front surface of the Nd:Glass substrate respectively, its overall LIDT was about 1.8 times higher than that of the P-polarized configuration. The laser-induced damage occurred at the interface between the S-polarized AR coating and the Nd:Glass substrate. The observed interfacial damage behaviors were interpreted using a phenomenological model that took the nano-sized absorbers, electric-field intensity (EFI) distribution and coating thickness into consideration.

Multilayer deformation planarization by substrate pit suturing

In the pursuit of 1064 nm high-power laser resistance dielectric coatings in the nanosecond region, a group of HfO₂/SiO₂ high reflectors with and without suture layers were prepared on prearranged fused silica substrates with femtosecond laser pits. Surface morphology, global coating stress, and high-resolution cross sections were characterized to determine the effects of substrate pit suturing. Laser-induced damage resistance was investigated for samples with and without suture layers. Our results indicate considerable stability in terms of the nanosecond 1064 nm laser-induced damage threshold for samples having a suture layer, due to decreased electronic field (e-field) deformation with simultaneous elimination of internal cracks. In addition, a suture layer formed by plasma ion-assisted deposition could effectively improve global mechanical stress of the coatings. By effectively reducing the multilayer deformation using a suture layer, electron-beam high-reflective coatings, whose laser-induced damage resistance was not influenced by the substrate pit, can be prepared.