Polycrystalline zinc selenide (ZnSe) and Cr2+ or Fe2+ doped ZnSe are key optical elements in mid-infrared laser systems. The laser-induced damage of the optical elements is the limiting factor for increasing the power and pulse energy of the lasers. In the present work, the optical damage of the ZnSe, Cr2+:ZnSe, and Fe2+:ZnSe samples induced by a repetitively pulsed Ho3+:YAG laser at 2091 nm was studied. The probability of the optical damage and the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) were determined for the samples manufactured using different processing techniques. The highest LIDT was found in ZnSe samples annealed in an argon atmosphere. It was also found that the samples annealed in a zinc atmosphere or with hot isostatic pressing resulted in a decrease in the LIDT. The Cr2+-doped ZnSe had the lowest LIDT at 2.1 µm compared to Fe2+-doped or undoped ZnSe. The LIDT fluence of all tested ZnSe samples decreased with the increase in the pulse repetition rate and the exposure duration. The results obtained may be used to improve the treatment procedures of ZnSe, Cr2+:ZnSe, and Fe2+:ZnSe polycrystals to further increase their LIDT.
Special pure chalcogenide glass is the material of choice for many mid-infrared optical fibers and fiber lasers. In this paper, the thermo-optical lensing and laser-induced damage were studied in Ge35As10S55 and Ge20As22Se58 glasses and compared with the well-studied As2S3 glass. The thermal Z-scan technique with the quasi-CW Tm-doped fiber laser at 1908 nm was applied to study thermal lensing in chalcogenide glass. The laser-induced damage of various chalcogenide glasses was determined using the one-on-one procedure. The thermal nonlinear refractive index of the Ge35As10S55 and Ge20As22Se58 glasses was found to be lower than that of the As2S3 glass. The laser-induced damage threshold of the Ge20As22Se58 glass was determined to be higher than that of the Ge35As10S55 glass. The difference in the thermal damage threshold of the Ge35As10S55 and Ge20As22Se58 glasses and their lower value in comparison with the As2S3 glass were explained by a deviation from the stoichiometry of glass compositions and their tendency to crystallize.
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