Effect of the deposition processes on the micro-defects and laser-induced damage threshold of thin films

Micro-defect is one of key limiting factors in the improvement of the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of thin films. In the present paper, thin films were prepared using the electron-beam evaporation technique with different coating materials and pre-melting processes. The relationships of thin film LIDT with impurity element content and with pre-melting processes were investigated. The experiment results indicate that a number of impurity elements play an important role in the LIDT of the samples. An efficient pre-melting process is necessary to maintain deposition stability, which could also reduce micro-defect density in thin films.