We report on the laser damage resistance of ion beam-sputtered oxide materials (Al2O3, Nb2O5, HfO2, SiO2, Ta2O5, ZrO2) and mixtures of Al2O3-SiO2, Nb2O5-SiO2, HfO2-SiO2, Ta2O5-SiO2, and ZrO2-SiO2, irradiated by single 500 fs pulses at 1030 nm. Laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT), refractive index, and bandgaps of the single-layer coatings are measured. For pure oxide materials a linear evolution of the LIDT with bandgap is observed. The results are in accordance with our simulations based on photo-ionization and avalanche-ionization. In the case of mixtures, however, deviations from the previous behaviors are evidenced. The evolution of the LIDT as a function of the refractive index is analyzed, and an empirical description of the relation between refractive index and LIDT is proposed.

ZrO2-SiO2 and Nb2O5-SiO2 mixture coatings as well as those of pure zirconia (ZrO2), niobia (Nb2O5), and silica (SiO2) deposited by ion-beam sputtering were investigated. Refractive-index dispersions, bandgaps, and volumetric fractions of materials in mixed coatings were analyzed from spectrophotometric data. Optical scattering, surface roughness, nanostructure, and optical resistance were also studied. Zirconia-silica mixtures experience the transition from crystalline to amorphous phase by increasing the content of SiO2. This also results in reduced surface roughness. All niobia and silica coatings and their mixtures were amorphous. The obtained laser-induced damage thresholds in the subpicosecond range also correlates with respect to the silica content in both zirconia- and niobia-silica mixtures.

The total internal reflection ellipsometry (TIRE) method was used for the excitation and study of the sensitivity properties of the hybrid Tamm plasmon polariton – surface plasmon polariton (TPP-SPP) and single surface plasmon resonance (SPR) modes of the GCSF receptor immobilization. Additionally, the optimized sensitivity of the hybrid TPP-SPP mode was investigated and compared with the single SPR mode when the BSA proteins formed a layer on the gold surface. The dispersion relations for the hybrid TPP-SPP and single SPR modes were used to explain the enhanced sensitivity of the ellipsometric parameters for the hybrid TPP-SPP mode over the conventional SPR. The SPP component (δΔh-SPP/δλ=53.9°/nm) of the hybrid TPP-SPP mode was about 6.4 times more sensitive than single SPR (δΔSPR/δλ=8.4°/nm) for the BSA protein layer on the gold film. It was found that the sensitivity of the hybrid plasmonic mode can be made controllable by using the strong coupling effect between the TPP and SPP components. The strong coupling regime reduces absorption and scattering losses of the metal for the SPP component in the hybrid TPP-SPP mode and, as a result, narrows the plasmonic resonance.

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