Refractive-index dependence of pulsed-laser-induced damage

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Abstract
A parametric study of the threshold for pulsed-laser-induced damage with refractive index for surfaces and thin films of several transparent optical materials is reported. An empirical analysis of the experimental results obtained using 1.06-μm radiation in ~40-nsec pulses, together with other published data, yields, to first order, a 1/(n2 − 1) dependence for the threshold optical electric field. The proposed scaling law describes quite well the variation of damage threshold for optical surfaces ranging in refractive index from 1.38 to 2.49. Similar agreement is noted for homogeneous thin films deposited on a fused silica substrate; however, deviations are noted for inhomogeneous films.