Analysis of laser energy deposition leading to damage and ablation of HfO2 and Nb2O5 single layers submitted to 500 fs pulses at 1030 and 343 nm

Abstract

Laser-induced damage thresholds and morphologies of laser ablated sites on dielectric thin films are studied based on experiments and simulations. The films are single layers of hafnia and niobia deposited on fused silica substrates with a magnetron sputtering technique. Laser experiments are conducted with 500 fs pulses at 1030 and 343 nm, and the irradiated sites are characterized with optical profilometry and scanning electron microscopy. The results, i.e., LIDT and damage morphologies, are compared to simulations of energy deposition in the films based on the single rate equation for electron excitation, taking into account transient optical properties of the films during the pulse. The results suggest that a critical absorbed energy as a damage criterion gives consistent results both with the measured LIDT and the observed damage morphologies at fluences close to the damage threshold. Based on the numerical and experimental results, the determined LIDT evolution with the wavelength is described as nearly constant in the near-infrared region, and as rapidly decreasing with laser wavelength in the visible and near-ultraviolet regions.