Vol. 42, Issue 4, pp. 783-793 (2012)

Abstract

To study the differences between long-pulse and short-pulse laser-induced damage in optical dielectric thin films, temperature distributions in single-layer HfO₂ films, multi-layer HfO₂/SiO₂ films, and HfO₂ films with high-absorptive inclusions induced by 1 ms and 10 ns lasers are analyzed based on the temperature field theory. Through our calculations, the damage property differences between millisecond and nanosecond lasers are summarized. The results for single-layer films show that 1 ms laser is easier to damage the substrate than 10 ns laser. For multi-layer films, the laser field effect is weaker when irradiating by 1 ms laser. Furthermore, when inclusions are introduced, the film is easier to be damaged by 10 ns laser, which means that 10 ns laser is more sensitive to the inclusions.