355 nm纳秒紫外激光辐照下熔石英前后表面损伤的对比研究

为了理解前后表面损伤不对称性的物理内涵, 利用阴影成像技术研究了纳秒紫外激光诱使熔石英光学元件表面损伤的时间分辨动力学过程.研究表明,纳秒紫外激光与熔石英作用过程中前后表面损伤的物理机理是完全不同的.前表面处空气中等离子体和冲击波较强, 等离子体的屏蔽作用抑制了余脉冲能量的沉积, 降低了元件损伤程度.而后表面处等离子体吸收激光能量膨胀, 对后表面冲击作用更为严重, 形成的等离子体电子密度可达到10²³cm^-3以上, 反射部分激光能量与入射的激光余脉冲干涉, 使得 关键词： 熔石英 激光诱使损伤 阴影成像技术 光学元件表面     

Damage characteristics of laser plasma shock wave on rear surface of fused silica glass

The damage to the rear surface of fused silica under the action of high power laser is more severe than that incurred by the front surface, which hinders the improvement in the energy of the high power laser device. For optical components,the ionization breakdown by laser is a main factor causing damage, particularly with laser plasma shock waves, which can cause large-scale fracture damage in fused silica. In this study, the damage morphology is experimentally investigated, and the characteristics of the damage point are obtained. In the theoretical study, the coupling and transmission of the shock wave in glass are investigated based on the finite element method. Thus, both the magnitude and the orientation of stress are obtained. The damage mechanism of the glass can be explained based on the fracture characteristics of glass under different stresses and also on the variation of the damage zone's Raman spectrum. In addition, the influence of the glass thickness on the damage morphology is investigated. The results obtained in this study can be used as a reference in understanding the characteristics and mechanism of damage characteristics induced by laser plasma shock waves.     

Ultra-fast diagnosis of shock waves and plasma at front and rear surfaces in the bulk of fused silica induced by an Nd:YAG pulse laser

We investigate the dynamic processes of the Nd:YAG pulse laser ablation of fused silica by ultrafast timeresolved optical diagnosis with a nanosecond time resolution. The evolution process of plasma expansion in air and shock waves propagation in the bulk are both obtained with spatial and temporal resolutions.Laser-induced damage in the bulk of fused silica with filaments and shock waves are observed. Thermoelastic wave,mechanical wave,and shock wave dependence on the laser fluence and intensity of the plasma are analyzed. The shock pressure P and temperature T calculated through the measured shock velocity D and the Hugoniot data of fused silica are measured.     

纳秒激光诱导损伤熔石英玻璃的动力学过程

采用超快时间分辨阴影成像技术研究了纳秒激光诱导损伤熔石英玻璃前后表面和体内的动力学过程,对比分析了前后表面和体内的损伤差异及损伤机制。在前表面,观察了空气和材料中的等离子体和冲击波的产生与发展过程;亚纳秒激光辐照下,前表面材料内观察到三个应力波,并观察到材料体内的损伤过程。在后表面,除观察到冲击波的产生与发展过程,还观察到表面物质的烧蚀去除与喷发过程。在材料内部,损伤由自聚焦和点缺陷吸收两种机制主导,而且点缺陷吸收诱导材料体内损伤有时间先后顺序。     

Material response during nanosecond laser induced breakdown inside of the exit surface of fused silica

The material response following nanosecond, UV laser induced breakdown inside of the exit surface of fused silica is investigated using multimodal time resolved microscopy. The study spans up to about 75 ns delay from the onset of material modification during the laser pulse through the observation of material ejection. A number of distinct processes were identified, including: a) the onset of optical absorption in the material arising from the buildup of an electronic excitation, b) the expansion of the hot modified region (plasma) along the surface and inside the bulk, c) the formation of radial and circumferential cracks, d) the swelling of the affected region on the surface and, e) the onset of ejection of material clusters at about 30 ns delay and its progression to a well‐defined jet by about 75 ns delay. Limited theoretical modeling is used to aid the interpretation of the data.     

1064 nm激光致熔石英损伤的数值模拟研究

为了研究1064 nm激光对增透熔石英的热应力损伤机理以及等离子体分布等效应。基于热传导和气体动力学理论,探究了毫秒激光对增透熔石英的热应力损伤和致燃损伤的理论模型,利用comsol软件模拟了1064 nm激光作用增透熔石英时材料内部的热损伤、应力损伤以及激光支持燃烧波,模拟结果表明在激光光斑半径区域内,温升较为明显,形成较大的温度梯度,激光作用区域受热膨胀,其余区域会对膨胀发生抵制,因此材料内部产生应力,其中上表面的径向应力、环向应力在激光光斑边缘附近达到最大值,应力损伤应该先从辐照中心点或激光光斑边缘附近产生,同时发现等离子体的传播是稳态的,燃烧波的最大速度发生在最初时刻,并随着扩散时间逐渐变低。     

Machining of transparent materials using an IR and UV nanosecond pulsed laser

Channels are traditionally machined in materials by drilling from the front side into the bulk. The processing rate can be increased by two orders of magnitude for transparent materials by growing the channel from the rear side. The process is demonstrated using nanosecond laser pulses to drill millimeter-sized channels through thick silica windows. Absorbing defects are introduced onto the rear surface to initiate the coupling of energy into the material. Laser drilling then takes place when the fluence exceeds a threshold. The drilling rate increases linearly with fluence above this threshold. While UV light drills about four times faster than IR light, the pulse length (in the nanosecond regime) and the pulse repetition rate (in the 0.1–10 Hz range) do not greatly influence the drilling rate per pulse. Drilling rates in excess of 100 μm per pulse are achieved by taking advantage of the propagation characteristics of the plasma created at the drilling front. The plasma during rear-side drilling generates a laser-supported detonation wave into the bulk material. The geometry also seems to increase the efficiency of the laser-induced plasma combustion and shock wave during the pulse by confining it in front of the channel tip. Received: 1 July 1999 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 20 September 2000     

Surface defects,stress evolution,and laser damage enhancement mechanism of fused silica under oxygen-enriched condition

Oxygen ions (O⁺) were implanted into fused silica at a fixed fluence of 1×10¹⁷ ions/cm² with different ion energies ranging from 10 keV to 60 keV. The surface roughness, optical properties, mechanical properties and laser damage performance of fused silica were investigated to understand the effect of oxygen ion implantation on laser damage resistance of fused silica. The ion implantation accompanied with sputtering effect can passivate the sub-/surface defects to reduce the surface roughness and improve the surface quality slightly. The implanted oxygen ions can combine with the structural defects (ODCs and E' centers) to reduce the defect densities and compensate the loss of oxygen in fused silica surface under laser irradiation. Furthermore, oxygen ion implantation can reduce the Si-O-Si bond angle and densify the surface structure, thus introducing compressive stress in the surface to strengthen the surface of fused silica. Therefore, the laser induced damage threshold of fused silica increases and the damage growth coefficient decreases when ion energy up to 30 keV. However, at higher ion energy, the sputtering effect is weakened and implantation becomes dominant, which leads to the surface roughness increase slightly. In addition, excessive energy aggravates the breaking of Si-O bonds. At the same time, the density of structural defects increases and the compressive stress decreases. These will degrade the laser laser-damage resistance of fused silica. The results indicate that oxygen ion implantation with appropriate ion energy is helpful to improve the damage resistance capability of fused silica components.     

脉冲激光辐照氮化硅陶瓷损伤阈值的光谱测量

氮化硅陶瓷具有耐高温、耐腐蚀和耐磨损等优异性能, 可应用于金属材料和高分子材料难以胜任的极端工作环境。但具备这些优良特性的同时也给其加工带来了不便,传统的磨削加工方法效率低,设备损耗严重, 激光辅助加工为其提供了一种新途径。将等离子体光谱法和显微成像法相结合,对脉冲激光辐照氮化硅陶瓷的损伤阈值进行了测量,并分析了损伤机理。实验选用热压烧结氮化硅陶瓷为靶材,参考ISO21254国际损伤阈值测试标准搭建试验系统,采用1-on-1法利用Nd3+∶YAG固体脉冲激光分别在纳秒和微秒脉宽下辐照氮化硅陶瓷,两种脉宽分别选取10个能量密度梯度进行激光辐照,每个能量密度辐照10个点。利用光纤光谱仪采集光谱信息,利用金相显微镜获取显微图像信息,将光谱结果与显微成像结果对比分析, 发现纳秒脉宽下材料一旦损伤光谱上就会出现等离子体峰,通过分析光谱中等离子体峰,元素指认是否含有材料中特征元素即可判断损伤,为了区别空气电离击穿同时测量了空气等离子体光谱对比分析剔除干扰。微秒脉宽下显微图像观察到刚开始损伤时,光谱中只出现较强热辐射谱线并未出现等离子体谱线,进一步增加激光能量密度,光谱中会出现少量等离子体峰,因此不能直接以等离子体峰判断材料损伤阈值。利用金相显微镜观察损伤形貌,纳秒脉宽下在损伤区域内部观察到明显的烧蚀冲击状损伤,光谱呈现出大量等离子体谱线,说明纳秒激光辐照氮化硅损伤机制主要为等离子体冲击波引起的力学损伤效应。微秒脉宽在辐照区域边缘发现热烧蚀痕迹,损伤区内观察到大量熔融物,出现明显热辐射光谱,说明微秒激光辐照氮化硅损伤机制主要是由于长脉宽热积累引起的热损伤效应,随着能量密度增加热辐射谱上叠加有等离子体峰,等离子体峰值强度与损伤程度一致。利用零几率损伤阈值法对两种方法测得结果进行了拟合,分析发现等离子体光谱法更适用于纳秒脉宽下损伤阈值测量,得到结果为0.256 J·cm-2;显微成像法适用于微秒脉宽下损伤阈值测量,得到结果为6.84 J·cm-2。     

Wavelength conversion of nanosecond pulses to the mid-IR in photonic crystal fibers

We investigate degenerate four wave mixing with nanosecond pulses in fused silica photonic crystal fibers. Phase-matching curves are calculated taking into account the material and waveguide dispersion. Experiments with a nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG pump laser and relatively short fiber lengths show more than an octave spanning conversion to idler and signal wavelengths at 3.105 μm and 0.642 μm, respectively. Conversion efficiency depends on the fiber length and pump intensity and is limited in our experiments by damage of the fiber input facet. Our results represent a new stretch towards the limit of the silica transmission window in the mid-infrared (IR).     

多波长激光同时辐照下熔石英元件的损伤研究

对比研究了3ω单独辐照、3ω＋2ω和3ω＋1ω双波长同时辐照下熔石英元件的初始损伤和损伤增长规律,重点研究3ω能量密度在其阈值附近时,低能量密度的2ω和1ω对初始损伤和损伤增长的影响,分析了波长间的能量耦合效应。结果表明:双波长同时辐照下,当2ω和1ω能量密度远低于其自身阈值时,它们对初始损伤几率和损伤增长阈值的影响可以忽略,但也会参与初始损伤和损伤增长过程,会增加初始损伤程度和损伤增长系数。基于飞秒双脉冲成像的冲击波速度测量表明,3ω和1ω同时辐照下,波长间的能量耦合效应会促进激光能量向材料沉积的效率。     

Thermal model for nanosecond laser sputtering at high fluences

The vaporization effect and the following plasma shielding generated by high-power nanosecond pulsed laser ablation are studied in detail based on the heat flux equation. As an example of Si target, we obtain the time evolution of the calculated surface temperature, ablation rate and ablation depth by solving the heat flow equations using a finite difference method. It can be seen that plasma shielding plays a more important role in the ablation process with time. At the same time, the variation of ablation depth per pulse with laser fluence is performed. Our numerical results are more agreed with the experiment datum than other simulated results. The result shows that the plasma shielding is very important.     

使用多光谱手段研究熔石英断裂机理

熔石英玻璃是高能激光系统中不可缺少的光学材料,其损伤问题一直是限制系统能量提升的瓶颈之一。通过纳秒激光脉冲诱导熔石英玻璃样品产生断裂,并使用多光谱手段对断裂前后样品进行检测,从而在实验和理论上了解了样品断裂形貌及内部相变结构成因,并从宏观到微观上统一解释了断裂形貌和相变结构的关系。在激光等离子冲击波作用下,熔石英发生断裂,且冲击波作用过程中在玻璃内部产生了推动裂纹扩展的尖端环向应力。在尖端环向应力作用下,不同损伤区域形成了不同扩展速度和长度的裂纹, 按照裂纹形貌特性差异可以将断裂区分为雾化区、羽毛区、镜面区三个部分。使用透射光谱、能量散射光谱检测损伤前后样品,发现裂纹的产生引起了玻璃透过率和带隙的下降,且断裂区出现氧原子游离或缺失;使用Raman光谱检测样品损伤前后不同形貌区,发现等离子冲击波使熔石英中Si-O-Si键断裂并发生重组,导致镜面区、羽毛区、雾化区三元拓扑环和四元拓扑环宏观上对应的斯石英相和柯石英相的相对含量依次升高,破坏了材料的固有原子结构特性,使材料断裂区向高密度相转变。氧游离的发生会在玻璃内部产生的大量缺陷,从而使得玻璃透过率及带隙下降,严重影响了玻璃的性能。     

基于激光近场和图像分割技术的复合波长诱导熔石英损伤实验研究

在复合波长(波长分别为1053、527、351nm)情况下,利用激光近场对熔石英样品进行损伤实验。设计了一种基于激光近场辐照的损伤阈值定义方法,并利用带有灰度抑制的分水岭标记算法对损伤图像进行损伤区域提取,通过对比损伤图像与相应光束近场能量分布,计算出损伤区域与非损伤区域临界处的光能量密度,即为熔石英样品的损伤阈值。实验结果表明,复合波长激光诱导熔石英损伤是3种波长激光共同作用的结果,但351nm激光对损伤起主要作用,初始损伤阈值为8.22J/cm2;在复合波长激光多次辐照样品的情况下,熔石英样品后表面的损伤成指数形式增长,损伤增长系数为0.59。     

紫外准分子激光损伤典型光学材料的特性分析

根据已经建立的紫外准分子激光损伤典型光学材料的理论模型,研究了准分子激光对透明光学材料（石英玻璃）和非透明光学材料（K9玻璃）的损伤特性,并结合实验结果证实了理论模型的有效性。研究表明：在准分子激光对非透明光学材料辐照下,激光光斑半径越大,产生的热应力和温度越小;脉宽越小,产生的热应力越大;随着脉冲数的增加,温度和热应力都逐渐增大。值得注意的是,当重频增加至45 Hz以上时,熔融损伤阈值开始低于应力损伤阈值,这说明当重频增加到一定程度时,非透明光学材料将首先产生熔融损伤,而不再是应力损伤。在准分子激光对透明光学材料辐照下,杂质微粒的半径和掩埋深度对光学材料温度场分布有着重要影响。但当杂质半径和掩埋深度超过一定的数值时,杂质粒子的存在与表面温度并无联系。理论模型能够较好地解释石英玻璃前/后表面相同的初始损伤形貌特征。     

Aluminum thin film enhanced IR nanosecond laser-induced frontside etching of transparent materials

Laser processing of glass is of significant commercial interest for microfabrication of precision optical engineering devices. In this work, a laser ablation enhancement mechanism for microstructuring of glass materials is presented. The method consists of depositing a thin film of aluminum on the front surface of the glass material to be etched. The laser beam modifies the glass material by being incident on this front-side. The influence of ablation fluence in the nanosecond regime, in combination with the deposition of the aluminum layer of various thicknesses, is investigated by determining the ablation threshold for different glass materials including soda-lime, borosilicate, fused silica and sapphire. Experiments are performed using single laser pulse per shot in an air environment. The best enhancement in terms of threshold fluence reduction is obtained for a 16 nm thick aluminum layer where a reduction of two orders of magnitude in the ablation threshold fluence is observed for all the glass samples investigated in this work.     

激光诱导Mg等离子体电子温度的实验研究

利用波长为1 064 nm,最大能量为500 mJ的Nd∶YAG脉冲激光器在室温,一个标准大气压下对Mg合金冲击,改变激光能量,得到相应的Mg等离子体特征谱线。分析谱线,发现谱线有不同的演化速率,同时得到了MgⅠ,MgⅡ离子谱线,证明此实验条件下,激光能量足够Mg合金靶材充分电离。选择了相对强度较大的MgⅠ 383.2 nm, MgⅠ 470.3 nm, MgⅠ 518.4 nm三条激发谱线,利用这些发射谱线的相对强度计算了等离子体的电子温度,激光能量为500 mJ时,等离子体温度为1.63×104 K。实验结果表明：在本实验条件下,Mg原子可以得到充分激发;在200～500 mJ激光能量范围内,等离子体温度随着激光能量的降低而衰减,在350～500 mJ激光能量范围内的等离子体温度随激光能量的变化速度十分明显,200～350 mJ时等离子体温度变化速度迅速减缓;激光能量为300 mJ时,谱线相对强度明显减弱,低于350和250 mJ的谱线相对强度,不符合谱线相对强度会随着激光能量提高而上升的变化趋势,证明发生了等离子体屏蔽现象,高功率激光产生的等离子体隔断了激光与材料之间的耦合。此时的等离子体温度明显升高,不符合变化趋势,这是由于在发生等离子体屏蔽现象时,激光能量被等离子体吸收,导致等离子体温度上升。     

Time-resolved transmission study of fused silica during laser-induced backside dry etching

Laser-induced backside dry etching (LIBDE) is a promising technique for micro- and nanomachining of transparent materials. Although several experiments have already proved the suitability and effectiveness of the technique, there are several open questions concerning the etching mechanism and the concomitant processes. In this paper time-resolved light transmission investigations of etching process of fused silica are presented. 125 nm thick silver coating was irradiated through the carrying 1 mm thick fused silica plate by single pulses of a nanosecond KrF excimer laser. The applied fluences were 0.38, 0.71 and 1 J/cm². During the etching process the irradiated spots were illuminated by an electronically delayed nitrogen laser pumped dye laser. The delay between the pump and probe pulses was varied in the range of 0 ns and 20 μs. It was found that the transmitted probe beam intensity strongly depends on the applied delays and fluences. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry of the etched surface showed the existence of silver droplets and fragments on the illuminated surfaces and silver atoms built into the treated surface layer influencing the transmission behavior of the studied samples.     

355 nm皮秒激光辐照下熔石英的损伤特性

利用光学元件激光损伤测试平台,测试了355 nm皮秒激光辐照下熔石英光学元件的初始损伤及损伤增长情况,并通过荧光检测分析了损伤区缺陷。研究结果表明:皮秒激光较高的峰值功率导致熔石英损伤阈值较低,前表面损伤阈值为3.98 J/cm2,后表面损伤阈值为2.91 J/cm2;前后表面损伤形貌存在较大差异,后表面比前表面损伤程度轻且伴随体内丝状损伤;随脉冲数的增加后表面损伤直径增长缓慢,损伤深度呈线性增长;皮秒激光的动态自聚焦和自散焦导致熔石英体内损伤存在细丝和炸裂点重复的现象;与纳秒激光损伤相比,损伤区缺陷发生明显改变。     

1064 nm和532 nm纳秒激光同时辐照熔石英损伤规律的研究

利用Nd: YAG激光器研究基频(1064 nm)与倍频(532 nm)单独辐照和同时辐照下熔石英的损伤规律,对损伤几率进行了测试,获得损伤几率曲线与典型损伤形貌。研究结果表明:双波长同时辐照下的初始损伤阈值总是小于单波长辐照下的初始损伤阈值;基频光中加入定量倍频光后,熔石英对基频光的吸收效率提高;并且双波长同时辐照下,熔石英损伤密度增大;原因主要是熔石英表面缺陷对不同波长吸收机制的差异。