Comparing the use of 4.6 &#956;m lasers versus 10.6 &#956;m lasers for mitigating damage site growth on fused silica surfaces

Steven T. Yang; Manyalibo J. Matthews; Selim Elhadj; Diane Cooke; Gabriel M. Guss; Vaughn G. Draggoo; Paul J. Wegner

doi:10.1117/12.867747

2 December 2010 Comparing the use of 4.6 μm lasers versus 10.6 μm lasers for mitigating damage site growth on fused silica surfaces

Steven T. Yang, Manyalibo J. Matthews, Selim Elhadj, Diane Cooke, Gabriel M. Guss, Vaughn G. Draggoo, Paul J. Wegner

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7842, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2010; 784219 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.867747
Event: Laser Damage Symposium XLII: Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High Power Lasers, 2010, Boulder, Colorado, United States

Abstract

The advantage of using mid-infrared (IR) 4.6 μm lasers, versus far-infrared 10.6 μm lasers, for mitigating damage growth on fused silica is investigated. In contrast to fused silica's high absorption at 10.6 μm, silica absorption at 4.6 μm is two orders of magnitude less. The much reduced absorption at 4.6 μm enables deep heat penetration into fused silica when it is heated using the mid-IR laser, which in turn leads to more effective mitigation of damage sites with deep cracks. The advantage of using mid-IR versus far-IR laser for damage growth mitigation under non-evaporative condition is quantified by defining a figure of merit (FOM) that relates the crack healing depth to laser power required. Based on our FOM, we show that for damage cracks up to at least 500 μm in depth, mitigation using a 4.6 μm mid-IR laser is more efficient than mitigation using a 10.6 μm far-IR laser.

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Steven T. Yang, Manyalibo J. Matthews, Selim Elhadj, Diane Cooke, Gabriel M. Guss, Vaughn G. Draggoo, and Paul J. Wegner "Comparing the use of 4.6 μm lasers versus 10.6 μm lasers for mitigating damage site growth on fused silica surfaces", Proc. SPIE 7842, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2010, 784219 (2 December 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.867747

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