节瘤缺陷激光损伤的研究进展

在近红外反射类激光薄膜中,节瘤缺陷是引起薄膜激光损伤的主要因素。为了提高激光薄膜的损伤阈值,对节瘤缺陷及其损伤特性进行研究具有重要意义。从真实节瘤缺陷和人工节瘤缺陷两个方面介绍节瘤缺陷的研究进展。基于真实节瘤缺陷的研究,建立了节瘤缺陷的结构特征,形成了节瘤缺陷损伤特性和损伤机制的初步认识,利用时域有限差分法(FDTD)模拟了电场增强,初步解释了节瘤缺陷的损伤机制,发明了抑制节瘤缺陷种子源的方法和激光预处理技术,减少了节瘤缺陷,提高了薄膜损伤阈值。但是真实节瘤缺陷的性质,如种子源尺寸、吸收性以及位置深度等,都难以控制和预测,难以开展节瘤缺陷损伤特性的系统和量化研究,致使关于节瘤缺陷损伤的科学认识尚有不足。基于人工节瘤缺陷的研究,可以实现节瘤缺陷损伤特性的系统、量化甚至单一因素研究,极大地提高了实验研究的效率和可靠性,获得了一系列定量损伤规律。人工节瘤缺陷的高度受控性使实验研究与理论模拟的可靠对比成为可能,人工节瘤缺陷的损伤形貌和FDTD电场模拟的直接比较实验不仅验证了时域有限差分法(FDTD)模拟电场的正确性,也进一步明确了电场增强是诱导节瘤缺陷损伤的主要机制。对节瘤缺陷的损伤机制有了更为深刻的认识后,人们开始调控节瘤缺陷的电场增强效应提高节瘤缺陷的损伤阈值,发展了宽角度反射薄膜技术和节瘤缺陷平坦化技术,抑制电场增强,提高损伤阈值。这扩展了控制节瘤缺陷的思路和方法,从原来单一的去除节瘤缺陷到调控节瘤缺陷,为进一步提高薄膜的损伤阈值开辟了新的方向和途径。     

光学薄膜中节瘤缺陷研究进展

结合本实验室及国内外同行的工作进展,概括性地介绍了光学薄膜中节瘤缺陷的生长特性、结构特征和损伤特性,以及激光预处理和破坏修复技术的研究进展。节瘤种子的尺寸、形状和表面特性决定了节瘤缺陷的尺寸、边界结构的连续性和表面形貌特征。节瘤种子的来源主要有基底加工和清洗过程的残留物,镀膜过程中真空室的污染和蒸发材料的喷溅,并给出了相应的抑制方法。节瘤的电场增强效应是导致节瘤缺陷易损伤的另一个重要原因。节瘤缺陷的激光预处理和破坏坑的修复技术可以提高光学薄膜的抗激光损伤能力。     

节瘤缺陷平坦化提高高反射膜的激光损伤阈值

探究了节瘤缺陷平坦化技术中平坦化层(刻蚀层)厚度和种子源尺寸之间的刻蚀规律,同时解释了平坦化技术提高节瘤缺陷的损伤阈值的机制。在双离子束溅射系统中,使用SiO₂微球模拟真实的种子源置于基板上,镀制1064 nm HfO₂/SiO₂高反膜,制备人工节瘤缺陷。对类似于实际种子源的SiO₂微球一系列不同刻蚀程度的实验得出了节瘤缺陷平坦化技术的刻蚀规律：只要平坦化层(刻蚀层)的厚度稍大于节瘤缺陷的种子源粒径,就可以将种子源完全平坦化。使用时域有限差分法(FDTD)模拟不同平坦化程度的节瘤缺陷内电场增强的结果与节瘤缺陷的损伤形貌进行对比实验,将损伤形貌和损伤阈值与电场强度分布之间建立联系,表明平坦化技术可以改变节瘤缺陷原有的几何结构,有效抑制节瘤缺陷的电场增强效应。最后,通过对未经平坦化和经过平坦化处理后的节瘤缺陷进行损伤阈值测试,对比结果直接验证了节瘤缺陷平坦化技术可以实现对节瘤缺陷的调控,大幅度提高了节瘤缺陷的损伤阈值。     

45°高反膜中节瘤缺陷的电场增强效应及损伤特性

研究设计和制备了中心波长为1 064 nm的45°多层膜反射镜,通过数值仿真结合实验,对薄膜中节瘤缺陷引起的电场增强效应及其对薄膜抗激光损伤性能的影响进行了研究。结果表明：当1 064 nm激光从右至左45°斜入射时,电场增强效应主要出现在节瘤缺陷的表层及其左侧轮廓中部,电场增强效应随节瘤缺陷尺寸增大而增强。实验上,在清洁的基板表面喷布单分散SiO₂微球作为人工节瘤种子,采用电子束蒸发制备法完成多层全反膜的制备,采用R-on-1方式对薄膜样品进行激光损伤测试。结果表明,薄膜的损伤阈值随着节瘤缺陷尺寸增加而减小。通过综合分析电场增强效应、薄膜损伤测试结果及损伤形貌特征得出,薄膜损伤阈值降低是由于节瘤缺陷和薄膜中微缺陷共同作用的结果。     

脉冲激光辐照光学薄膜的缺陷损伤模型

建立了缺陷吸收升温致薄膜激光损伤模型,该模型从热传导方程出发,考虑了缺陷内部的温度分布以及向薄膜的传导过程,通过引入散射系数简化了Mie散射理论得出的吸收截面.对电子束蒸发沉积的ZrO₂:Y₂O₃单层膜进行了激光破坏实验,薄膜样品的损伤是缺陷引起的,通过辉光放电质谱法对薄膜制备材料的纯度分析发现材料中的主要杂质元素为铂,其含量为0.9％.利用缺陷损伤模型对损伤过程进行了模拟,理论模型和实验结果取得了较好的一致性.     

高反射光学薄膜激光损伤研究进展

激光诱导损伤阈值是大功率光学系统中重要参数,其数值大小对激光系统的输出功率与稳定性具有重要影响。为了突破损伤阈值对激光光学系统输出功率的限制,科研人员主要从制备薄膜工艺、激光特性、薄膜特性以及薄膜后工艺等方面开展研究。本文介绍了高反膜理论、制备工艺;综述了近十年来国内外对高反膜损伤研究的成果;阐述了激光特性、薄膜特性以及薄膜后工艺对薄膜损伤阈值的影响。在此基础上,对提高高反膜损伤阈值的研究和发展趋势进行了分析与展望。     

UBK7玻璃后表面缺陷诱导体内激光损伤

对UBK7玻璃在波长为1.064靘的短脉冲激光作用下产生的损伤进行了研究。通过对体损伤的形貌的相衬显微镜观测,发现体内和后表面炸裂点间的丝状损伤,从而提出后表面缺陷导致体损伤的理论解释。同时分析了表面损伤和体损伤的机理,对后表面损伤阈值低于前表面的原因作了讨论。     

UBK7玻璃后表面缺陷诱导体内激光损伤

 对UBK7玻璃在波长为1.064靘的短脉冲激光作用下产生的损伤进行了研究。通过对体损伤的形貌的相衬显微镜观测,发现体内和后表面炸裂点间的丝状损伤,从而提出后表面缺陷导致体损伤的理论解释。同时分析了表面损伤和体损伤的机理,对后表面损伤阈值低于前表面的原因作了讨论。     

光学元件的激光损伤问题

光学元件是各类激光系统不可或缺的光学功能实现部件,其性能决定了激光系统的输出能力和光束质量。光学元件的激光损伤问题从激光发明起就一直伴随着激光技术的发展,随着激光新技术的发展和激光新应用的牵引,激光的波段、脉冲宽度以及重复频率等参数不断拓宽,使得激光损伤问题更加复杂,但万变不离其宗,激光损伤问题的核心是光学元件或光学材料对激光的吸收机制问题。从激光与光学材料相互作用的基本原理出发,以惯性约束聚变（ICF）激光驱动器应用的典型光学材料和光学元件为研究对象,回顾了针对光学元件的激光损伤问题开展的科研工作,总结了在此期间形成的关键技术和里程碑进展,同时也对依然困扰该领域的几类光学元件存在的问题瓶颈以及进一步研究发展趋势进行了展望。     

光学薄膜的激光损伤研究进展

从理论、实验两方面对薄膜的激光损伤机理和提高损伤阈值的手段进行了回顾。概括了现有理论模型及其适用范围,对缺陷的行为进行了多方面的论述,重点比较了各种制备方法及后处理手段的特点,分析了主要工艺参数对薄膜损伤阈值的影响。结合本实验室及国内外同行的工作,对溶胶-凝胶法制备高损伤阈值薄膜的工艺进行了总结。从吸收、热传导、抗拉强度等角度对物理膜和化学膜在结构与性能上进行了比较,提出了从化学键、成膜过程等方面分析损伤机理的建议,并结合真空污染、亚表面损伤等新问题提出了未来工作的发展方向。     

Effect of native defects and laser-induced defects on multi-shot laser-induced damage in multilayer mirrors

The roles of laser-induced defects and native defects in multilayer mirrors under multi-shot irradiation condition are investigated. The HfO 2 /SiO 2 dielectric mirrors are deposited by electron beam evaporation(EBE) . Laser damage testing is carried out on both the 1-on-1 and S-on-1 regimes using 355-nm pulsed laser at a duration of 8 ns. It is found that the single-shot laser-induced damage threshold(LIDT) is much higher than the multi-shot LIDT. In the multi-shot mode,the main factor influencing LIDT is the accumulation of irreversible laser-induced defects and native defects. The surface morphologies of the samples are observed by optical microscopy. Moreover,the number of laser-induced defects affects the damage probability of the samples. A correlative model based on critical conduction band(CB) electron density(ED) is presented to simulate the multi-shot damage behavior.     

脉冲压缩光栅的激光损伤机理及阈值提升技术研究进展

总结了激光辐射条件下脉冲压缩光栅的激光诱导损伤机理,探究了表面形貌、加工方式、结构缺陷以及表面污染等因素对光栅损伤造成的影响,从微观损伤机理的角度阐释了产生损伤的内在原因。在脉冲压缩光栅的激光预处理、加工工艺及表面污染物的去除等方面,分析了实现光栅损伤阈值提升的内在因素,给出了提升光栅损伤阈值的技术措施。根据影响光栅损伤阈值的因素,提出在光栅运行过程中采用多种措施组合的方式来提升光栅的激光诱导损伤阈值。脉冲压缩光栅激光损伤机理和阈值的研究对脉冲压缩光栅系统的稳定运行具有实践意义,为激光装置高能量密度的输出奠定基础。最后,提出了光栅激光诱导损伤研究的科学与技术问题,为脉冲压缩光栅激光诱导损伤阈值的提升提供新的思路,服务于重大科学装置和重要技术领域的发展。     

利用Cramér-Rao理论研究相位差法的最佳离焦量

针对光子数足够多的情况,利用Cramér-Rao理论研究了在选取离焦作为附加像差时,不同的待测波前和目标对最佳离焦量选取的影响。结果表明:在点目标情况下,像差的大小和空间频率对最佳离焦量的影响不大;而在扩展目标情况下,最佳离焦量虽然与待测像差的空间频率关系不明显,但随着待测像差峰谷值的增大而增大。最佳离焦量与目标的结构有关而与其扩展程度关系不大,成像时目标上各点的干扰越大,最佳离焦量越大。     

Femtosecond laser-induced damage in reflector

We have investigated the damage for ZrO₂/SiO₂ 800 nm 45° high-reflection mirror with femtosecond pulses. The damage morphologies and the evolution of ablation crater depths with laser fluences are dramatically different from that with pulse longer than a few tens of picoseconds. The ablation in multilayers occurs layer by layer, and not continuously as in the case of bulk single crystalline or amorphous materials. The weak point in damage is the interface between two layers. We also report its single-short damage thresholds for pulse durations ranging from 50 to 900 fs, which departs from the diffusion-dominated scaling. A developed avalanche model, including the production of conduction band electrons (CBE) and laser energy deposition, is applied to study the damage mechanisms. The theoretical results agree well with our measurements.     

Femtosecond laser-induced damage of gold films

Single- and multi-shot ablation thresholds of gold films in the thickness range of 31-1400 nm were determined employing a Ti:sapphire laser delivering pulses of 28 fs duration, 793 nm center wavelength at 1 kHz repetition rate. The gold layers were deposited on BK7 glass by an electron beam evaporation process and characterized by atomic force microscopy and ellipsometry. A linear dependence of the ablation threshold fluence F_th on the layer thickness d was found for d ≤ 180 nm. If a film thickness of about 180 nm was reached, the damage threshold remained constant at its bulk value. For different numbers of pulses per spot (N-on-1), bulk damage thresholds of ∼0.7 J cm⁻² (1-on-1), 0.5 J cm⁻² (10-on-1), 0.4 J cm⁻² (100-on-1), 0.25 J cm⁻² (1000-on-1), and 0.2 J cm⁻² (10000-on-1) were obtained experimentally indicating an incubation behavior. A characteristic layer thickness of L_c ≈ 180 nm can be defined which is a measure for the heat penetration depth within the electron gas before electron-phonon relaxation occurs. L_c is by more than an order of magnitude larger than the optical absorption length of α⁻¹ ≈ 12 nm at 793 nm wavelength.     

Research progress in Asia on methods of processing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy data

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has attracted much attention in terms of both scientific research and industrial application. An important branch of LIBS research in Asia, the development of data processing methods for LIBS, is reviewed. First, the basic principle of LIBS and the characteristics of spectral data are briefly introduced. Next, two aspects of research on and problems with data processing methods are described: i) the basic principles of data preprocessing methods are elaborated in detail on the basis of the characteristics of spectral data; ii) the performance of data analysis methods in qualitative and quantitative analysis of LIBS is described. Finally, a direction for future development of data processing methods for LIBS is also proposed.     

Wavelength dependence of laser-induced damage: determining the damage initiation mechanisms

A novel experimental approach is employed to understand the mechanisms of laser induced damage. Using an OPO (optical parametric oscillator) laser, we have measured the damage thresholds of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) from the near ultraviolet into the visible. Distinct steps, whose width is of the order of k(B)T, are observed in the damage threshold at photon energies associated with the number of photons (3-->2 or 4-->3) needed to promote a ground state electron across the energy gap. The wavelength dependence of the damage threshold suggests that a primary mechanism for damage initiation in DKDP is a multiphoton process in which the order is reduced through excited defect state absorption.     

高功率激光诱导光学元件损伤阈值测量的不确定度分析

 激光诱导损伤阈值作为一实验参量,对其结果作不确定度分析有利于激光工作者在某个精度范围内获知该参量的信息。从激光损伤和损伤阈值定义出发,分析了基于ISO11254的损伤几率测试法测试激光诱导损伤阈值的不确定度来源,包括激光能量测量、激光光斑有效面积测量、各能量密度处损伤几率的计算以及对损伤几率点进行直线拟合这4个方面。并利用统计学原理和线性拟合等理论对这4个方面引起的不确定度分量及最终测试结果的相对合成不确定度进行了计算。以1 064 nm高反薄膜样品为例,分析表明：损伤几率点的计算和几率图中损伤几率的直线拟合是损伤阈值测试结果不确定度的主要来源,当样品的损伤阈值为7.79 J/cm²时,这两种因素引起的相对不确定度可分别在4%和18%左右,损伤阈值的相对合成不确定度达18.72%。