Results of a thin film laser damage competition at the SPIE Laser Damage Symposium (formerly Boulder Damage) this month will provide perspective on how the industry is doing with the development of high laser resistance coatings.
The annual event is marking its 41st year in 2009, and will be held 21-23 September at the National Institute of Standards and Technology facility in Boulder, CO, USA.
Conference Co-Chair Christopher Stolz of Lawrence Livermore National Lab will give a summary talk on the results of tests on 25 submitted thin film mirror coatings for femtosecond laser damage.
The samples, from companies and institutes in China, Germany, Japan, and the United States, are being tested according the ISO 11254-2 measurement protocol by Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. in Germany with a 180 fs laser at a wavelength of 786 nm.
Femtosecond lasers are critical for fast igniters, ultrafast diagnostics, and laser machining. This damage test competition will be a good opportunity to determine current capabilities within the thin film community in this growth area.
Participants will also be providing information on coating materials, deposition technologies, and layer counts. A double-blind test assures sample and submitter anonymity. In addition to the laser resistance results, details of deposition processes, coating materials and layer count, and spectral results also will be shared in Stolz's summary talk.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
