Study of modulation property to incident laser by surface micro-defects on KH2PO4 crystal

KH₂PO₄ crystal is a crucial optical component of inertial confinement fusion. Modulation of an incident laser by surface micro-defects will induce the growth of surface damage, which largely restricts the enhancement of the laser induced damage threshold. The modulation of an incident laser by using different kinds of surface defects are simulated by employing the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. The results indicate that after the modulation of surface defects, the light intensity distribution inside the crystal is badly distorted, with the light intensity enhanced symmetrically. The relations between modulation properties and defect geometries (e.g., width, morphology, and depth of defects) are quite different for different defects. The modulation action is most obvious when the width of surface defects reaches 1.064 μ. For defects with smooth morphology, such as spherical pits, the degree of modulation is the smallest and the light intensity distribution seems relatively uniform. The degree of modulation increases rapidly with the increase of the depth of surface defects and becomes stable when the depth reaches a critical value. The critical depth is 1.064 μ for cuboid pits and radial cracks, while for ellipsoidal pits the value depends on both the width and the length of the defects.     

Mechanism of micro-waviness induced KH₂PO₄ crystal laser damage and the corresponding vibration source

The low laser induced damage threshold of the KH2PO4 crystal seriously restricts the output power of inertial confinement fusion.The micro-waviness on the KH2PO4 surface processed by single point diamond turning has a significant influence on the damage threshold.In this paper,the influence of micro-waviness on the damage threshold of the KH2PO4 crystal and the chief sources introducing the micro-waviness are analysed based on the combination of the Fourier modal theory and the power spectrum density method.Research results indicate that among the sub-wavinesses with different characteristic spatial frequencies there exists the most dangerous frequency which greatly reduces the damage threshold,although it may not occupy the largest proportion in the original surface.The experimental damage threshold is basically consistent with the theoretical calculation.For the processing parameters used,the leading frequency of micro-waviness which causes the damage threshold to decrease is between 350-1 μm-1 and 30-1 μm-1,especially between 90-1 μm-1 and 200-1 μm-1.Based on the classification study of the time frequencies of microwaviness,we find that the axial vibration of the spindle is the chief source introducing the micro-waviness,nearly all the leading frequencies are related to the practical spindle frequency(about 6.68 Hz,400 r/min) and a special middle frequency(between 1.029 Hz and 1.143 Hz).     

Study of the near-field modulation property of microwaviness on a KH2PO4 crystal surface

The KH 2 PO 4 crystal is a key component in optical systems of inertial confinement fusion (ICF).The microwaviness on a KH 2 PO 4 crystal surface is strongly related to its damage threshold which is a key parameter for application.To study the laser induced damage mechanism caused by microwaviness,in this paper the near-field modulation properties of microwaviness to the incident wave are discussed by the Fourier modal method.Research results indicate that the microwaviness on the machined surface will distort the incident wave and thus lead to non-uniform distribution of the light intensity inside the crystal;in a common range of microwaviness amplitude,the light intensity modulation degree increases about 0.03 whenever the microwaviness amplitude increases 10 nm;1 order diffraction efficiencies are the key factors responsible for light intensity modulation inside the crystal;the light intensity modulation is just around the microwaviness in the form of an evanescent wave,not inside the crystal when the microwaviness period is below 0.712 μm;light intensity modulation degree has two extreme points in microwaviness periods of 1.064 μm and 1.6 μm,remains unchanged between periods of 3 μm and 150 μm,and descends above the period of 150 μm to 920 μm.     

The electric field modulation by three-dimensional crack on fused silica subsurface

The main factor of laser-induced damage is the modulation to electromagnetic field of laser by the crack on the subsurface. In this paper, a three-dimensional crack model on the exit surface is presented. Three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is employed to simulate the electric field intensity distribution in the vicinity of crack on fused silica subsurface. The roles of the crack width, depth, length and the gradient angle in the modulation to the incident light field are analyzed in detail. Results show that the crack size plays an important role in the electric modulation. With the increasing depth and width, the peak value of maximal electric field intensity appears in fused silica. However, the maximal electric field intensity tends to be a constant when the crack length reaches 1 μm. Besides, the enhancement of light intensity becomes obvious when total internal reflection occurs in fused silica. Our calculated results provide an advisable theoretical criterion to the corresponding experiment.     

Diode-pumped laser and self-frequency-doubling properties of a Nd³⁺:Na₃La₉O₃(BO₃)₈ crystal

We report efficient, diode-pumped, self-frequency doubling (SFD) in the newly developed laser crystal Nd³⁺:Na₃La₉O₃(BO₃)₈ (Nd:NLBO). More than 730?mW of fundamental output power at 1072?nm was achieved with a slope efficiency of 16.2%. With incident pump power of 8?W, 29?mW of green cw laser emission at 536?nm was observed with proper phase matching. This initial performance and the good optical properties of the crystalline host are encouraging for the development of a high power diode-pumped SFD visible light laser source.     

Generation of a mid-infrared broadband polarized supercontinuum in As₂Se₃ photonic crystal fibers

A simplified structure of birefringent chalcogenide As 2 Se 3 photonic crystal fiber(PCF) is designed.Properties of birefringence,polarization extinction ratio,chromatic dispersion,nonlinear coefficient,and transmission are studied by using the multipole method,the finite-difference beam propagation method,and the adaptive split-step Fourier method.Considering that the zero dispersion wavelength of our proposed fiber is about 4 μm,we have analysed the mechanism of spectral broadening in PCFs with different pitches in detail,with femtosecond pulses at a wavelength of 4 μm as the pump pulses.Especially,mid-infrared broadband polarized supercontinuums are obtained in a 3-cm PCF with an optimal pitch of 2 μm.Their spectral width at 20 dB reaches up to 12 μm.In the birefringent PCF,we find that the supercontinuum generation changes with the pump alignment angle.Research results show that no coupling between eigenpolarization modes are observed at the maximum average power(i.e.,37 mW),which indicates that the polarization state is well maintained.     

熔石英后表面坑点型划痕对光场调制的近场模拟

建立了坑点型划痕的旋转抛物面模型, 用三维时域有限差分方法研究了熔石英后表面坑点型划痕随深度、 宽度、 间距以及酸蚀量变化对波长λ =355 nm入射激光的调制.研究表明, 这类划痕调制最强区位于相邻两坑点的连接区, 且越靠近表面调制越强.当其宽深比为2.0---3.5、 坑点间距约为坑点宽度的1/2时, 可获得最大光场调制, 最大光强增强因子(LIEF)为11.53; 当坑点间距大于坑点宽度时, 其调制大为减弱, 相当于单坑的场调制.对宽为60δ (δ =λ/12), 深和间距均为30δ的坑点型划痕进行刻蚀模拟, 刻蚀过程中最大LIEF为11.0, 当间距小于300 nm时, 相邻坑点由于衍射形成场贯通.     

熔石英损伤修复坑下游光场调制的数值模拟与实验研究

系统研究了熔石英激光损伤修复后的形貌特征,根据测量数据建立了典型的损伤修复坑三维模型,利用标量衍射理论并结合快速傅里叶变换算法研究了修复坑在351 nm激光辐照下游光场调制的分布规律.研究表明,修复坑引起的光场调制会使得下游不同距离位置处出现环形光场增强区和轴上位置光场增强点;环形光场增强区位置距离修复元件较近,其环形调制极大值主要受修复坑深度的影响,且随修复坑深度的增大而逐渐增加;轴上位置光场增强点位置距离修复元件较远,其轴上调制极大值主要受修复坑边缘凸起高度的影响,且随凸起高度的增大而快速增加;环形调制极大值或轴上调制极大值增大的同时,其分布位置与修复元件之间的距离均会逐渐减小.实验验证表明,利用三维修复坑模型得到的下游光场调制数值模拟结果与实验测量结果具有较好的一致性.本研究结果对控制熔石英元件损伤修复形貌特征以抑制调制增强效应给出了具体的控制方向,对修复工艺的改进与完善提供了非常有意义的参考.     

Two localized CO₂ laser treatment methods for mitigation of UV damage growth in fused silica

Two methods:high-power,short-time,single-shot irradiation(Method A) and low-power,long-time,multi-shot irradiation(Method B) are investigated to mitigate the UV damage growth in fused silica by using a 10.6-μm CO2 laser.To verify the mitigation effect of the two methods,the laser induced damage thresholds(LIDTs) of the mitigated sites are tested with a 355-nm,6.4-ns Nd:YAG laser,and the light modulation of the mitigation sites are tested with a 351-nm continuous Nd:YLF laser.The mitigated damaged sites treated with the two methods have almost the same LIDTs,which can recover to the level of pristine material.Compared with Method A,Method B produces mitigated sites with low crater depth and weak light modulation.In addition,there is no raised rim or re-deposited debris formed around the crater edge for Method B.Theoretical calculation is utilized to evaluate the central temperature of the CO2 laser beam irradiated zone and the radius of the crater.It is indicated that the calculated results are consistent with the experimental results.     

Numerical simulation of the modulation to incident laser by the repaired damage site in a fused silica subsurface

One of the main factors of laser induced damage is the modulation to incident laser which is caused by the defect in the subsurface of the fused silica.In this work,the repaired damage site irradiated by CO 2 laser is simplified to a Gaussian rotation according to the corresponding experimental results.Then,the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method is employed to simulate the electric field intensity distribution in the vicinity of this kind of defect in fused silica front subsurface.The simulated results show that the modulation is notable,the E max is about 2.6 times the irradiated electric field intensity in the fused silica with the damage site (the width is 1.5 μm and depth is 2.3 μm) though the damage site is repaired by CO 2 laser.The phenomenon and the theoretical result of the annular laser enhancement existed on the rear surface are first verified effectively,which agrees well with the corresponding experimental results.The relations between the maximal electric field intensity in fused silica with defect depth and width are given respectively.Meanwhile,the corresponding physical mechanism is analysed theoretically in detail.     

KDP晶体前表面修复轮廓的光强调制能力影响

在高功率激光系统中,精密微机械修复是减缓磷酸二氢钾(KDP)晶体表面缺陷增长的有效方法,使用精密微铣削机床可以加工出球面型与高斯型修复轮廓。为得到最优的修复结构参数,建立了晶体前表面球面型与高斯型修复轮廓的电磁场有限元模型,通过改变轮廓的宽度、深度等参数,对两种修复轮廓的光强调制能力进行对比研究。仿真结果表明光强调制能力主要是由修复轮廓的衍射效应及入射光在修复界面处的二次入射所引起的干涉作用共同决定;针对初始损伤点,建议采用宽深比大于5的修复轮廓,从而有效提高KDP晶体表面缺陷点的激光损伤阈值,对于宽深比大于10的修复轮廓建议选用高斯型;对宽1000μm,深20μm的两种修复表面的激光损伤实验表明,高斯型修复轮廓具有较高的抗损伤能力,实验与仿真结果相一致。     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:Lu<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Y<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>VO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser with a GaAs saturable absorber

By using a-cut Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ mixed crystal as laser gain medium, a diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) laser with a GaAs saturable absorber in a Z-type folded cavity is demonstrated for the first time. The Q-switched mode-locked laser pulses with about 90% modulation depth are obtained as long as the pump power reached the oscillation threshold. The repetition rate of the passively Q-switched pulse envelope ranges from 50 to 186 kHz as the pump power increases from 0.915 to 6.520 W. Under an incident pump power of 6.52 W, the QML pulses with the largest average output power of 694 mW, the shortest pulse width of 200 ns and the highest pulse energy of 3.73 μJ are obtained. The mode-locked pulse width inside the Q-switched envelope is estimated to be about 275 ps. The experimental results show that Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ is a promising mixed crystal for QML laser.     

不同类型修复坑形貌对光传输的影响北大核心CSCD

建立了不同类型熔石英元件损伤修复坑形貌的三维模型,利用标量衍射理论并结合快速傅里叶变换算法研究了在351nm激光辐照下修复坑形貌对光传输的影响规律。研究表明,无论是锥形、抛物形或是高斯形修复坑形貌,均会产生离轴位置的环形光场调制增强区,其环形调制极大值均主要受修复坑深度影响,随着修复坑深度的增大而增大,而其分布位置随着修复坑深度的增加逐渐靠近修复元件后表面,随着修复坑底面半径的增大而远离修复元件后表面;同时,当修复坑深度与底面半径一定时,三类修复坑形貌中以抛物形修复坑形貌最为理想。     

Surface damage morphology investigations of silicon under millisecond laser irradiation

The surface damage morphologies of single crystal silicon induced by 1064 nm millisecond Nd:YAG laser are investigated. After irradiation, the damage morphologies of silicon are inspected by optical microscope (OM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The plasma emission spectra of the damaged region are detected by the spectrometer. It is shown that surface oxidation and nitridation have occurred during the interaction of millisecond laser with silicon. In addition, the damage morphologies induced by 2 ms and 10 ns pulse width laser are compared. The damage morphology obtained by 2 ms laser is an evident crater. Three types of damage morphologies are formed at different laser energy densities. The circular concentric ripples are found surrounding the rim of the crater. The spacing of the ripples is 15 ± 5 μm. Two types of cracks are observed: linear crack and circular crack. The linear crack is observed in the center of the damaged region which propagates to the periphery of the damaged region. The circular crack is located at the rim of the crater. The damage morphology induced by 10 ns laser is surface layer damage. The periodic linear waves are generated due to the interference between the incident beam and the scattered beam. The spacing of the ripples is 1.54 μm which is close to the incident laser wavelength 1.064 μm. The linear crack is located at the center of the damaged region. Furthermore, for the same laser energy density, the dimension of the damaged region and the crater depth induced by 2 ms laser are greater than that of 10 ns laser. It indicates that the damage mechanism under millisecond pulse laser irradiation is strongly different from the case of nanosecond pulse laser.     

熔石英亚表面横向划痕调制作用的3维模拟

建立了熔石英后表面3维横向划痕模型,并采用3维时域有限差分方法对熔石英亚表面划痕周围的电场强度进行了数值模拟,分析了划痕宽度、深度、长度以及划痕倾斜角度对入射光场的调制作用,结果表明:随划痕深度和划痕长度的增加,熔石英内的最大电场强度增大,且当划痕长度达到1μm以上时,最大电场强度趋于稳定;划痕结构因子在1~2之间的划痕较容易引起熔石英损伤;而入射激光在划痕界面和后表面之间发生内全反射时,后表面上的光强增强效果更加明显,因此减少角度范围在20.9°~45°之内的划痕能大幅提高熔石英的损伤阈值。     

Experimental study on doubly QML Nd:Lu<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Y<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>VO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser with AO modulator and central SESAM

By using double-mixed crystal Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ as laser medium, a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ laser with acousto-optic (AO) modulator and central semiconductor saturable absorption mirror (SESAM) is realized for the first time. The Q-switched envelope modulation depth is nearly 100%.The average output power and the pulse width of the Q-switched envelope etc. for different AO modulator repetition rates have been measured. The experimental result show that Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ crystal is an excellent laser medium for doubly QML lasers.     

Spectroscopic characterization of Yb:Sc₂O₃ transparent ceramics

Yb:Sc2O3 transparent ceramics are fabricated by a conventional ceramic process and sintering in H2 atmosphere. The room-temperature spectroscopic properties are investigated, and the Raman spectrum shows an obvious vibration characteristic band centred at 415 cm 1 . There are three broad absorption bands around 891, 937, and 971 nm, respectively. The strongest emission peak is centred at 1.04 μm with a broad bandwidth (11 nm) and an emission cross-section of 1.8×10 20 cm 2 . The gain coefficient implies a possible laser ability in a range from 990 nm to 1425 nm. The energy-level structure shows that Yb:Sc 2 O 3 ceramics have large Stark splitting at the ground state level due to their strong crystal field. All the results show that Yb:Sc2O3 transparent ceramics are a promising material for short pulse lasers.     

Laser damage studies of silicon surfaces using ultra-short laser pulses

A comparative study of damage morphology in GaAs induced by s- , p- and linearly polarized laser light (1.064 μm, 35 ps) is presented. For linearly polarized light damage initiates in the form of pits. This material damage occurs below the surface. For s- or p-polarized light material damage involves only the surface layer. For larger fluences or number of pulses the differences are less marked and the damage morphology occurs in a similar manner either for linearly polarized or s- or p-polarized light. Ripples are formed when multiple irradiation is used due to interference between the front and back faces of the test sample. The spacing of these ripples is 3 μm, which is in good accordance with the reported work of Guosheng et al. (Phys. Rev. B 26 (1982) 5366).     

熔石英亚表面缺陷附近光强分布的数值模拟

 熔石英亚表面缺陷对光场的调制是导致激光辐照场破坏的主要因素。采用有限元方法对熔石英亚表面缺陷（平面和锥形划痕）周围的光强分布进行了数值模拟。结果表明：划痕形状、几何尺寸、方位角、光的入射角等是影响划痕周围光强分布的主要因素;前表面划痕对光强的增强效果比后表面弱;在理想形状的划痕截面和表面同时发生内全反射时,平面划痕周围的光强增强效果明显。锥形划痕周围的光强分布为正确解释交叉划痕的夹角平分线附近的损伤提供了理论依据。     

熔石英亚表面三维Hertz锥形划痕附近光强分布的数值模拟

熔石英亚表面划痕对入射激光的调制是导致光学材料损伤的主要因素.本文建立了熔石英后表面上三维Hertz锥形划痕模型,采用三维时域有限差分方法对划痕周围的电场强度进行了计算模拟,并分别讨论了划痕的深度、半径以及倾斜角度对入射光场调制作用的影响.结果表明：Hertz锥形划痕中心区域的电场增强效果最明显,最容易被辐照损伤;划痕的深度从λ变化到9.5λ的过程中,熔石英内的最大电场强度逐渐增大;半径小于15λ的Hertz锥形划痕较容易引起熔石英的损伤,当半径大于175λ时,熔石英内的最大电场强度都维持在2.5 V/m,不再受半径大小影响;当入射激光在划痕的内侧界面和熔石英后表面之间发生内全反射时,光场增强效果愈加明显. 关键词： 三维时域有限差分 Hertz锥形划痕 电场分布 数值模拟