| Abstract: | Laser-induced depth damage to sapphire crystals and to various glasses is investigated. The influence of self-focusing on the laser damage process is studied. The conditions under which self-focusing influences the damage are clarified. The influence of various impurities on the optical endurance of ruby laser crystals is determined. The damage mechanism is initiated by various types of absorbing inclusions and defects; a correlation is found between the light scattering and the damage threshold. A new criterion based on light scattering is introduced for the purity of transparent dielectrics.Translated from Trudy Ordena Lenina Fizicheskogo Instituta im. P. N. Lebedeva, Vol. 101, pp. 31–74, 1978. |
