https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2008-00393-8
Photothermal microscopy for studying the role of nano-sized absorbing precursors in laser-induced damage of optical materials
Institut Fresnel, UMR CNRS 6133, and École Centrale Marseille – Université Paul Cézanne – Université de Provence, Domaine Universitaire Saint Jérôme, 13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France
Corresponding author: mireille.commandre@fresnel.fr
Laser-induced damage in optical components has long been acknowledged as a localized phenomenon linked to the presence of defects. Destructive investigations combined to optical characterizations have led to the conclusion that in high quality components the damage initiators are typically a few nanometers in size and have low densities. The understanding of damage phenomena requires the development of non destructive evaluation techniques with both high spatial resolution and sensitivity to detect these defects. In this context, a High Resolution Photothermal Deflection microscope (HRPD) has been developed and coupled with a damage facility at the same wavelength 1.064 μm. The behavior under irradiation of model defects such as gold inclusions (3 to 250 nm) has been studied. We show how HRPD gives determining information about damage mechanisms.
© EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag, 2008
