LASER-INDUCED DAMAGE IN SOLIDS.

Abstract

Optical damage from pulsed lasers takes the form of thermally induced fracture or, more commonly, local melting which may be accompanied by fracture. Such catastrophic damage can occur in all transparent solids, and represents an important limitation on the design and operation of highpower pulsated lasers. A review is given of recent experiments by which the intrinsic limits to light propagation in solids and their variation with laser-pulse and material characteristics have been measured. In addition to contributing to the theoretical understanding of the intrinsic damage process, these experiments have established repeatable references for materials evaluation. It has been possible to clarify the relationship between optical-surface and bulk damage, and to gather information which may be useful in the development of more highly damage-resistant materials and coatings.