Few-cycle pulse laser-induced damage of thin films in air and vacuum ambience

Laser-induced damage mechanisms were investigated for an ultra-broadband chirped mirror, as part of a systematic study of few-cycle pulse laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of widely-used ultra-broadband optics, in vacuum and in air, for single and multi-pulse regimes (S-on-1). Microscopic analysis of damage morphology suggests that three different damage mechanisms occur across the fluence range 0.15-0.4J/cm2, while no ablation was yet observed. The three regimes resulted in shallow swelling (< 10 nm tall), tall blistering (~ 150 nm tall), and annular blistering (damage suppressed at highest intensity, forming a ring shape). Descriptions of the potential mechanisms are discussed.

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