Measurements of Ultra-wide Pulse Damage Thresholds of Anti-reflection Coated IR Materials at 10.6 μn

Abstract

A method has been developed to generate ultra-wide (10–100 μs regime) CO2 laser pulses using a laser master oscillator-power amplifier configuration. These laser pulses have been used to conduct laser induced damage threshold measurements of anti-reflection coated cadmium telluride samples. The question of damage threshold dependence on the laser pulse width is discussed and compared with the results of other workers. The paper also addresses the effects of different types and physical properties of the AR-coating materials, and the effects of laser beam polarization on the damage thresholds of the materials.