Influences of SiO2 protective layers and annealing on the laser-induced damage threshold of Ta2O5 films

Ta2O5 films are prepared on BK7 substrates with conventional electron beam evaporation deposition.The effects of SiO2 protective layers and annealing on the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the films are investigated.The results show that SiO2 protective layers exert little influence on the electric field intensity(EFI)distribution,microstructure and microdefect density but increase the absorption slightly.Annealing iS effective on decreasing the microdefect density and the absorption of the films.Both SiO2 protective layers and annealing are beneficial to the damage resistance of the films and the latter is more effective to improve the LIDT.Moreover,the maximal LIDT of Ta2O5 films is achieved by the combination of SiO2 protective layers and annealing.     

Temperature dependences of optical properties,chemical composition,structure,and laser damage in Ta2O5 films

Ta2O5 films are prepared by e-beam evaporation with varied deposition temperatures,annealing temperatures,and annealing times.The effects of temperature on the optical properties,chemical composition,structure,and laserinduced damage threshold(LIDT) are systematically investigated.The results show that the increase of deposition temperature decreases the film transmittance slightly,yet annealing below 923 K is beneficial for the transmittance.The XRD analysis reveals that the film is in the amorphous phase when annealed below 873 K and in thehexagonal phase when annealed at 1073 K.While an interesting near-crystalline phase is found when annealed at 923 K.The LIDT increases with the deposition temperature increasing,whereas it increases firstly and then decreases as the annealing temperature increases.In addition,the increase of the annealing time from 4 h to 12 h is favourable to improving the LIDT,which is mainly due to the improvement of the O/Ta ratio.The highest LIDT film is obtained when annealed at 923 K,owing to the lowest density of defect.     

Effect of SiO2 protective layer on the femtosecond laser-induced damage of HfO2/SiO2 multilayer high-reflective coatings

Two kinds of HfO₂/SiO₂ 800 nm high-reflective (HR) coatings, with and without SiO₂ protective layer were deposited by electron beam evaporation. Laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDT) were measured for all samples with femtosecond laser pulses. The surface morphologies and the depth information of all samples were observed by Leica optical microscopy and WYKO surface profiler, respectively. It is found that SiO₂ protective layer had no positive effect on improving the LIDT of HR coating. A simple model including the conduction band electron production via multiphoton ionization and impact ionization is used to explain this phenomenon. Theoretical calculations show that the damage occurs first in the SiO₂ protective layer for HfO₂/SiO₂ HR coating with SiO₂ protective layer. The relation of LIDT for two kinds of HfO₂/SiO₂ HR coatings in calculation agrees with the experiment result.     

渐变折射率Ta_2O_5/SiO_2薄膜多脉冲激光损伤特性

采用离子束溅射(IBS)的方式,制备了1064nm高反射Ta2O5/SiO2渐变折射率光学薄膜。对其光学性能和在基频多脉冲下抗损伤性能进行了分析。通过渐变折射率的设计方式,很好地抑制了边带波纹,增加了1064nm反射率。通过对损伤阈值的分析发现,随着脉冲个数的增加,损伤阈值下降明显;但是在20个脉冲数后,损伤阈值(维持在22J/cm2左右)几乎保持不变直到100个脉冲数。通过Leica显微镜对损伤形貌的观察,发现损伤诱因是薄膜表面的节瘤缺陷。通过扫描电镜(SEM)以及聚集离子束(FIB)对薄膜表面以及断面的观察,证实了薄膜的损伤起源于薄膜表面的节瘤缺陷。进一步研究得出,渐变折射率薄膜在基频光单脉冲下损伤主要是由初始节瘤缺陷引起的,在后续多脉冲激光辐照下初始节瘤缺陷引起烧蚀坑的面积扩大扫过薄膜上的其他节瘤缺陷,引起了其他节瘤缺陷的喷射使损伤加剧,造成损伤的"累积效应"。     

Influence of SiO2 additional layers on the laser induced damage threshold of Ta2O5 films

A series of Ta₂O₅ films with different SiO₂ additional layers including overcoat, undercoat and interlayer was prepared by electron beam evaporation under the same deposition process. Absorption of samples was measured using the surface thermal lensing (STL) technique. The electric field distributions of the samples were theoretical predicted using thin film design software (TFCalc). The laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) was assessed using an Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm with a pulse length of 12 ns. It was found that SiO₂ additional layers resulted in a slight increase of the absorption, whereas they exerted little influence on the microdefects. The electric field distribution among the samples was unchanged by adding an SiO₂ overcoat and undercoat, yet was changed by adding an interlayer. SiO₂ undercoat. The interlayer improved the LIDT greatly, whereas the SiO₂ overcoat had little effect on the LIDT.     

Effects of deposition parameters on laser-induced damage threshold of Ta2O5 films

Ta₂O₅ films were deposited on BK7 substrates by e-beam evaporation with different deposition parameters such as substrate temperature (323-623 K), oxygen pressure (0.5-3.0×10⁻² Pa) and deposition rate (0.2-0.5 nm/s). Absorption, scattering and chemical composition were investigated by surface thermal lensing (STL) technique, total integrated scattering (TIS) measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was assessed using pulsed Nd:YAG 1064 nm laser at a pulse length of 12 ns. The results showed that optical properties, absorption and LIDT were influenced by the deposition parameters and annealing. However, scattering was little correlated with the deposition parameters. On the whole, the LIDT increased with increasing substrate temperature and oxygen pressure, whereas it increased firstly and then decreased upon increasing deposition rate. After annealing at 673 K for 12 h, the LIDT of films improved significantly. The dependence of possible damage mechanism on deposition parameters was discussed.     

Laser-induced damage threshold in n-on-1 regime of Ta2O5 films at 532, 800, and 1064 nm

Ta2O5 films were prepared with conventional electron beam evaporation and annealed in O2 at 673 K for 12 h. Laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) of the films were performed at 532 and 1064 nm in 1-on-1 regime firstly, and then were performed at 532, 800, and 1064 nm in n-on-1 regime, respectively.The results showed that the LIDTs in n-on-1 regime were higher than that in 1-on-1 regime at 532 and 1064 nm. In addition, in n-on-1 regime, the LIDT increased with the increase of wavelength. Furthermore, both the optical property and LIDT of Ta2O5 films were influenced by annealing in O2.     

Influence of Annealing Temperature on Structure, Optical Loss and Laser-Induced Damage Threshold of TiO2 Thin Films

TiO2 thin films are prepared on fused silica with conventional electron beam evaporation deposition. After annealed at different temperatures for 4h, the spectra and XRD patterns of the TiO2 thin film are obtained. Weak absorption of coatings is measured by the surface thermal lensing technique, and laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） is determined. It is found that with the increasing annealing temperature, the transmittance of TiO2 films decreases. Especially when coatings are annealed at high temperature over 1173K, the optical loss is very serious. Weak absorption detection indicates that the absorption of coatings decreases firstly and then increases, and the absorption and defects play major roles in the LIDT of TiO2 thin films.     

Calculation of temperature fields with a film-substrate interfacial layer model to discuss the layer-pair number effects on the damage thresholds of LaF3/MgF2 high reflectors at 355 nm

Laser induced damage thresholds (LIDT) of LaF₃/MgF₂ high reflectors at 355 nm were measured and investigated as a function of layer-pair number. Generally, LaF₃/MgF₂ coatings with more layer pairs possessed higher LIDT, but coatings with too high layer-pair number crazed because of high tensile stress, so the LIDT of them decreased badly. The temperature rise in the coatings was calculated based on a film-substrate interfacial absorption model, and the depth of the damage in the coatings were measured by a Veeco optical profilograph. The two characterization methods together were used to interpret the effects of layer-pair number on LIDT, and the damage mechanism of coatings at laser wavelength of 355 nm was also discussed.     

Investigation of annealing effects on the laser-induced damage threshold of amorphous Ta2O5 films

Ta₂O₅ films were deposited using the conventional electron beam evaporation method and then annealed at temperatures in the range 373-673 K. Chemical composition, scattering and absorption were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), total integrated scattering (TIS) measurement and the surface thermal lensing (STL) technique, respectively. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was assessed using the output from an Nd:YAG laser with a pulse length of 12 ns. The results showed that the improvement of the LIDT after annealing was due to the reduced substoichiometric and structural defects present in the film. The LIDT increased slightly below 573 K and then increased significantly with increase in annealing temperature, which could be attributed to different dominant defects. Moreover, the root mean square (RMS) roughness and scattering had little effect on the LIDT, while the absorption and the LIDT were in accord with a general relation.     

Influences of CO2 laser annealing on mechanical and laser-induced damage properties of ZrO2 thin films

Zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) thin films were deposited on BK7 glass substrates by the electron beam evaporation method. A continuous wave CO₂ laser was used to anneal the ZrO₂ thin films to investigate whether beneficial changes could be produced. After annealing at different laser scanning speeds by CO₂ laser, weak absorption of the coatings was measured by the surface thermal lensing (STL) technique, and then laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was also determined. It was found that the weak absorption decreased first, while the laser scanning speed is below some value, then increased. The LIDT of the ZrO₂ coatings decreased greatly when the laser scanning speeds were below some value. A Nomarski microscope was employed to map the damage morphology, and it was found that the damage behavior was defect-initiated both for annealed and as-deposited samples. The influences of post-deposition CO₂ laser annealing on the structural and mechanical properties of the films have also been investigated by X-ray diffraction and ZYGO interferometer. It was found that the microstructure of the ZrO₂ films did not change. The residual stress in ZrO₂ films showed a tendency from tensile to compressive after CO₂ laser annealing, and the variation quantity of the residual stress increased with decreasing laser scanning speed. The residual stress may be mitigated to some extent at proper treatment parameters.     

Effects of annealing on laser-induced damage threshold of TiO2/SiO2 high reflectors

The mechanism of improving 1064 nm, 12 ns laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of TiO₂/SiO₂ high reflectors (HR) prepared by electronic beam evaporation from 5.1 to 13.1 J/cm² by thermal annealing is discussed. Through optical properties, structure and chemical composition analysis, it is found that the reduced atomic non-stoichiometric defects are the main reason of absorption decrease and LIDT rise after annealing. A remarkable increase of LIDT is found at 300 °C annealing. The refractive index and film inhomogeneity rise, physical thickness decrease, and film stress changes from compress stress to tensile stress due to the structure change during annealing.     

SiO2内保护层对LiB3O5晶体倍频增透膜损伤阈值的影响

 利用离子辅助电子束沉积方法在LiB₃O₅基底上镀制了不加SiO₂内保护层和加SiO₂内保护层的倍频增透膜，测量了两类薄膜在波长1 064 nm多脉冲辐照下的激光损伤阈值，获得了两种不同的损伤形貌，并对损伤原因作了初步探讨。实验结果表明：保护层的加入把由基底膜层界面缺陷吸收所决定的阈值改变到由HfO₂膜层内缺陷吸收所决定的阈值，显著提高了倍频增透膜的抗激光损伤能力。     

Study on high-reflective coatings of different designs at 532 nm

Conventional HfO2/SiO2 and Al2O3/HfO2/SiO2 double stack high reflective （HR） coatings at 532 nm are deposited by electron beam evaporation onto BK7 substrates. The laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） of two kinds of HR coatings is tested, showing that the laser damage resistance of the double stack HR coatings （16 J/cm2） is better than that of the conventional HR coatings （12.8 J/cm2）. Besides, the optical properties, surface conditions, and damage morphologies of each group samples are characterized. The results show that laser damage resistance of conventional HR coatings is determined by absorptive defect, while nodular defect is responsible for the LIDT of double stack HR coatings.     

The effect of porosity on the laser induced damage threshold of TiO2 and ZrO2 single layer films

Monolayer ZrO₂ and TiO₂ films were prepared on BK7 glass by physical vapor deposition (PVD) and were subsequently annealed for 1 h at 300 °C. By using the transmission spectra of two samples and the envelope method, the refractive index dispersion and extinction coefficients have been calculated. Laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) measurement shows that despite slight differences between the extinction coefficients of the two samples, the LIDT parameter of the ZrO₂ film is greater than that of the TiO₂ film. This fact leads us to consider thermal conductivity as an important parameter for interpreting the LIDT difference. According to our theoretical analysis, as a consequence of increase in the number of thermal barriers along poorer film, its thermal conductivity, and hence LIDT, decreased, which is in agreement with our experimental results. The measured porosity of the two samples shows higher porosity for TiO₂ single layer, which is in agreement with atomic force (AFM) images. The gradual and smooth damage morphology of ZrO₂ observed in optical images implies higher thermal conductivity than TiO₂.     

Effect of Process Parameters on Laser Damage Threshold of TiO2 Coatings

We investigate the laser damage behaviour of an electron-beam-deposited TiO2 monolayer at different process parameters. The optical properties, chemical composition, surface defects, absorption and laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） of films are measured. It is found that TiO2 films with the minimum absorption and the highest LIDT can be fabricated using a TiO2 starting material after annealing. LIDT is mainly related to absorption and is influenced by the non-stoichiometric defects for TiO2 films. Surface defects show no evident effects on LIDT in this experiment.     

Laser-induced damage of Ta2O5/SiO2 narrow-band interference filters under different 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser modes

The laser-induced damage (LID) behavior of narrow-band interference filters was investigated with a Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm under single-pulse mode and free-running mode. The absorption measurement of such coatings was performed with surface thermal lensing (STL) technique. The damage morphologies under the two different laser modes were also studied in detail. It was found that all the filters exhibited a pass-band-center-dependent absorption and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) behavior, but the damage morphologies were diverse. The explanation was given with the analysis of the electric field distribution and the operational behavior of the irradiation laser.     

缺陷对HfO2薄膜的激光弱吸收与损伤阈值的影响

激光弱吸收是导致光学薄膜损伤的重要原因。在(5~43)mPa的氧分压下制备并测试了一组HfO2薄膜。实验发现,当氧分压小于20mPa时,薄膜弱吸收越大,损伤阈值越低;当氧分压大于20mPa时,薄膜的损伤阈值与弱吸收并不一一对应,具有较高弱吸收的薄膜可能同时具有较高的损伤阈值。建立了缺陷模型,采用有限元法模拟了缺陷对弱吸收测量和损伤阈值测量的影响,分析了缺陷尺寸、密度、吸收系数对弱吸收和损伤阈值的影响。研究结果显示,吸收系数高于薄膜1 000倍的缺陷可以降低薄膜的损伤阈值1 000倍,却并不影响薄膜的弱吸收。缺陷对HfO2薄膜的激光弱吸收与损伤阈值测试有完全不同的影响,是导致某些薄膜弱吸收与损伤阈值背离的原因。     

High temperature annealing effect on structure, optical property and laser-induced damage threshold of Ta2O5 films

Ta₂O₅ films were deposited by conventional electron beam evaporation method and then annealed in air at different temperature from 873 to 1273 K. It was found that the film structure changed from amorphous phase to hexagonal phase when annealed at 1073 K, then transformed to orthorhombic phase after annealed at 1273 K. The transmittance was improved after annealed at 873 K, and it decreased as the annealing temperature increased further. The total integrated scattering (TIS) tests and AFM results showed that both scattering and root mean square (RMS) roughness of films increased with the annealing temperature increasing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the film obtained better stoichiometry and the O/Ta ratio increased to 2.50 after annealing. It was found that the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) increased to the maximum when annealed at 873 K, while it decreased when the annealing temperature increased further. Detailed damaged models dominated by different parameters during annealing were discussed.