Performance of thin borosilicate glass sheets at 351 nm

Abstract

Commercial thin borosilicate glass sheets have been evaluated for use as a single-shot optic "debris shield" to separate the radiation and contamination produced by the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiment from the expensive precision laser optics which focus and shape the 35 1 -nm laser beam which irradiates the target. The goal of this work is identification of low cost materials that can deliver acceptable beam energy and focal spots to the target. The two parameters that dominate the transmitted beam quality are the transmitted wave front error and bulk absorption. This paper focuses on the latter. To date, the materials with the lowest linear 35 1-nm absorption have also generally demonstrated the lowest non-linear absorption. Commercial materials have been identified which approach the beam energy and focus requirements for many ICF missions.