For the paper, experimental studies were performed on the damage of the Ge- and Si-based flat window by lasers out-of-band. The experimental results showed that lasers out-of-band can cause film damage and substrate damage to Ge and Si windows. The high-energy laser damage window mechanism mainly manifested as thermal effects. The composite laser damage thresholds for the substrate were an Si window of 21.6 J/cm2 and a Ge window of 3 J/cm2. Compared with continuous laser and long pulse laser experimental results, it was found that the use of long pulse-continuous composite constitution could effectively reduce the damage threshold. Compared to the long-pulse laser, the composite laser could achieve similar damage effects with a smaller energy density.
Solid-state lasers have aroused many researchers’ interests for a variety of applications in military and industrial fields. Because of the preference for increased output power, Nd:YAG single crystals, which are the most widely used gain media, should be replaced by other more suitable candidates. Polycrystalline sesquioxide ceramics show great potential for use as gain media because their thermal and mechanical characteristics are suitable for use with high-energy laser systems. Recently, novel concepts of the gain media were also introduced. Herein, while briefly looking back on the progress of polycrystalline laser ceramics, we will discuss new interests in host materials and systems.
Experimental Study on the Damage of Optical Materials by out of Band Composite Laser