Generic incubation law for laser damage and ablation thresholds

In multi-pulse laser damage and ablation experiments, the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) usually changes with the number of pulses in the train, a phenomenon known as incubation. We introduce a general incubation model based on two physical mechanisms—pulse induced change of (i) absorption and (ii) critical energy that must be deposited to cause ablation. The model is applicable to a broad class of materials and we apply it to fit data for dielectrics and metals. It also explains observed changes of the LIDT as a function of the laser repetition rate. We discuss under which conditions the crater-size method to determine LIDTs can be applied in multi-pulse experiments.

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