Design considerations for tailoring the thickness profile of transparent dielectric deposits by continuous-wave laser deposition

Abstract

The distribution of a transparent dielectric material deposited onto a planar substrate by a continuous-wave laser is studied concerning the dependence on the light-intensity distribution. Theory is derived to model the thickness profile of the condensed material, with the aim of supporting the fabrication of free-from optics. Experiments have been performed to test the theory on the basis of an infrared-transmitting chalcogenide glass. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.