To enhance the PETawatt Aquitaine Laser (PETAL) operation, efforts are directed towards increasing the Laser-Induced Damage Threshold (LIDT) of transport mirrors. Three approaches are being considered : i) changing the design of thin film stacks, ii) the materials, and iii) the deposition process.
Monolayers of pure SiO2, HfO2, Sc2O3 and mixtures of HfO2/SiO2 and Sc2O3/SiO2 were elaborated by magnetron sputtering using oxide targets. Laser damage tests, combined with optical and physicochemical characterizations, revealed that the Sc2O3/SiO2 mixture exhibits the highest LIDT. The introduction of a small amount of oxygen into the plasma reduced the refractive index and improved the LIDT.
A Bragg mirror, designed for PETAL's specifications (R > 99% at 1053 nm for s polarization at 45° incidence) is being manufactured using HfO2 (high refractive index) and Sc2O3/SiO2 (low refractive index). The films thicknesses are finely controlled with the quartz crystal microbalance technique.
KEYWORDS: Optical coatings, Laser microstructuring, High power lasers, Chemical composition, Silica, Resistance, Laser induced damage, Oxygen, Matrices, Laser development
To build quarter-wave plate components for a high-power laser application, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics has developed a 21-layer silica coating fabricated by GLancing Angle Deposition. This stack alternates columnar birefringent layers with isotropic layers. We present a study on the SiO2 matrix state, the sub-stoichiometry and presence of oxygen vacancies that affect robustness and a reduced laser damage resistance. The composition throughout the film thickness is investigated thanks to GD-OES and Tof-SIMS combined with photoelectron spectroscopies for the composition. Anisotropic and isotropic layers exhibit differences in composition, between them and throughout the depth. Photoluminescence measurements show a peak that could represent oxygen vacancies that may reduce the damage threshold. Vibrational characterization further supports our findings. This comprehensive overview is discussed in relation to deposition process and resistance to laser-induced damage and will enable us to improve our current coatings.
Multilayer dielectric (MLD) gratings provide high diffraction efficiency and a high damage threshold. They represent the main solution to compressing a high-power laser beam. However, the laser resistance of MLD gratings limits the power of such facilities. The community devoted a lot of resources to increasing the damage threshold of those components. Today, it is well known that the etching profile plays a key role in the electric field distribution and consequently the laser resistance. In this paper, we focused our optimization on the multilayer dielectric stack to increase the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT). We numerically and experimentally demonstrated the impact of the MLD stack on the electric field distribution and the LIDT. We manufactured two sets of three samples with identical etching profiles. The calculated electric field intensities were in good agreement with the measured LIDTs. These results demonstrated how to further optimize grating designs through the dielectric stack.
This work deals with the compensation of frequency modulation to amplitude modulation (FM-to-AM) conversion due to gain spectral response of a regenerative amplifier. To do so, five designs of interference filters were tested. Direct measurements of FM-to-AM conversion were performed from temporal pulses as a function of wavelength using a 60 GHz bandwidth photodiode and oscilloscope. Additional numerical studies allowed us to find the best trade-off between low optical losses and compensation efficiency over a wide spectral range. With the best interference filter design, low amplitude modulation rate was over 2.0 nm spectral range whereas it was 0.4 nm without.
Multilayer dielectric gratings (MLDG) are key optical components of Petawatt-class laser that are used to compress short pulses of high intensities. Laser-induced damage can occur on the top area of the components, typically arising in the pillars periodically etched. This phenomenon limits the power yielded by high power laser facilities such as PETAL (PETwatt Aquitaine Laser) laser facility. PETAL is expected to delivery pulses with a wavelength around 1053 nm, an energy around 3 kJ and a pulse duration between 0.5 and 10 ps. Coupled with LMJ (Laser MegaJoule), PETAL aims to study materials in extreme conditions to reproduce the environment in the heart of stars or planets, fusion by inertial confinement, particularly rapid ignition and shock ignition, and nuclear physics for medical proton therapy. In this study, we present a process to improve the laser-induced damage threshold of PETAL pulse-compression gratings in sub-picosecond regime by reducing the electric field intensity in the pillars. PETAL gratings have specific parameters of operation: Transverse Electric polarization, under vacuum, a period equal to 1780 lines per mm and diffraction efficiency higher than 95% for the -1st order. Theoretical designs are calculated with a code developed at the Fresnel Institute. The code solves Fresnel equations by using the differential method, Fast Fourier Factorization (FFF) and S matrix propagation algorithm. As a result, we obtain the distribution of the electric field and diffraction efficiency of any given diffraction order. First, starting with a given MLD mirror, we calculate an etching profile that maximizes the diffraction efficiency at the -1st order by taking into account the manufacturing constraints of future suppliers. Then, we optimize the mirror stack without changing the etching profile. We modify only the first top layers under the grooves. We obtained theoretical designs with the same etching profile and identical diffraction efficiency, associated with different electric field intensity values and expected different laser induced damage thresholds.
Laser damage resistance is a key factor for the improvement of high power laser system. The PETAL laser, developed by the CEA-CESTA (France), uses meter scale reflective optics to compress, transport and focalize sub-picosecond laser pulses at 1053nm with high-energy [1]. In the case of defect-free material, laser-induced damage in the sub-picosecond regime is known to be deterministic since the threshold depends only on the electronic structure of the irradiated materials, the pulse duration and the enhancement of the electric fields in thin film coatings. Based on this consideration, a mono-shot technique has been investigated to assess the intrinsic damage resistance of optical component with only one laser shot. On the other hand, while considering real optical components, manufacturing processes included nanoscale defects in the functional coating. These defects can be ejected when irradiated and strongly reduce the laser damage resistance of optics: rasterscan procedure has then been developed to determine defect-induced damage densities. These densities are found to be high even for fluences well below the intrinsic Laser-Induced Damage Threshold and they increase with the fluence. These experiments bring new information on the operating characteristics of optics in short pulse regime. Once damage is triggered, its evolution under subsequent irradiations has also been studied. Growth experiments have been compared to numerical simulations. The investigations on growth behavior allow a better estimation of the functional lifetime of an optic in its operating conditions. The whole of results, damage initiation and damage growth, is discussed to the light of the laser damage observed on PETAL optics.
Laser damage resistance is a key factor for the improvement of high power laser system. The PETAL laser, developed by the CEA-CESTA (France), uses meter scale reflective optics to compress, transport and focalize sub-picosecond laser pulses at 1053nm with high-energy [1]. In the case of defect-free material, laser-induced damage in the sub-picosecond regime is known to be deterministic since the threshold depends only on the electronic structure of the irradiated materials, the pulse duration and the enhancement of the electric fields in thin film coatings. Based on this consideration, a mono-shot technique has been investigated to assess the intrinsic damage resistance of optical component with only one laser shot. On the other hand, while considering real optical components, manufacturing processes included nanoscale defects in the functional coating. These defects can be ejected when irradiated and strongly reduce the laser damage resistance of optics: rasterscan procedure has then been developed to determine defect-induced damage densities. These densities are found to be high even for fluences well below the intrinsic Laser-Induced Damage Threshold and they increase with the fluence. These experiments bring new information on the operating characteristics of optics in short pulse regime. Once damage is triggered, its evolution under subsequent irradiations has also been studied. Growth experiments have been compared to numerical simulations. The investigations on growth behavior allow a better estimation of the functional lifetime of an optic in its operating conditions. The whole of results, damage initiation and damage growth, is discussed to the light of the laser damage observed on PETAL optics.
A rasterscan procedure is set to determine laser-induced damage densities in sub-picosecond regime at 1053nm on high-reflective coatings. Whereas laser-induced damage is usually considered deterministic in this regime, damage events occur on these structures for fluences lower than their intrinsic Laser-Induced Damage Threshold (LIDT). Damage densities are found to be high even for fluences as low as 20% of the LIDT. Scanning Electron Microscope observations of these “under threshold” damage sites evidence ejections of defects, embedded in the dielectric stack. It brings a new viewpoint for the qualification of optical components and for the optimization of manufacturing processes of coatings.
While considering long pulse or short pulse high power laser facilities, optical components performances and in particular laser damage resistance are always factors limiting the overall system performances. Consequently, getting a detailed knowledge of the behavior of these optical components under irradiations with large beam in short pulse range is of major importance. In this context, a Laser Induced Damage Threshold test facility called DERIC has been developed at the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Bordeaux. It uses an Amplitude Systemes laser source which delivers Gaussian pulses of 500 fs at 1053 nm. 1-on-1, S-on-1 and RasterScan test procedures are implemented to study the behavior of monolayer and multilayer dielectric coatings.
The Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) facility has about 40 large optics per beam. For 22 bundles with 8 beams per bundle, it will contain about 7.000 optical components. First experiments are scheduled at the end of 2014. LMJ components are now being delivered. Therefore, a set of acceptance criteria is needed when the optical components are exceeding the specifications. This set of rules is critical even for a small non-conformance ratio. This paper emphasizes the methodology applied to check or re-evaluate the wavefront requirements of LMJ large optics. First we remind how LMJ large component optical specifications are expressed and we describe their corresponding impacts on the laser chain. Depending on the location of the component in the laser chain, we explain the criteria on the laser performance considered in our impact analyses. Then, we give a review of the studied propagation issues. The performance analyses are mainly based on numerical simulations with Miró propagation simulation software. Analytical representations for the wavefront allow to study the propagation downstream local surface or bulk defects and also the propagation of a residual periodic aberration along the laser chain. Generation of random phase maps is also used a lot to study the propagation of component wavefront/surface errors, either with uniform distribution and controlled rms value on specific spatial bands, or following a specific wavefront/surface Power Spectral Distribution (PSD).
LMJ and LIL are two French high power lasers dedicated to fusion and plasma experiments. These laser beams involve
hundreds of rather large optical components, the clear aperture of the beams being 400×400 mm2. Among these
components, an adaptative mirror is used to correct wavefront distortions in the amplification section. A simple design
has been chosen with push/pull actuators glued on the backside of a thin glass plate (9 mm). To ensure the bonding
mechanical steadiness, we need enough roughness on this backside. That is why it is ground. We noticed figure
instabilities on several of these ground backside substrates. Those wavefront distortions can be of several hundreds of
nanometers. We designed a specific mount to avoid the possibility of measurement discrepancies due to mechanical
mounting. We noticed then significant evolutions over a time-scale of a few months. The possibility of slow stress
variations in the ground backside has then been considered. It has been known for a long time that a ground surface is in
a compressive state and consequently tends to take a convex shape, this effect being named Twyman effect after its
discoverer. Anyway, as far as we know, there is still doubt on the physical mechanisms involved and no publication has
been made on the fluctuations of this effect. We wish to expose here results that led us to believe that instabilities are
also linked to the external stress which is seen during transport or storage. Finally, we present the experiments we put in
place on samples to improve our knowledge on this phenomenon and to test potential solutions.
A Petawatt facility called PETAL (PETawatt Aquitaine Laser) is under development near the LIL (Ligne
d'Integration Laser) at CEA Cesta, France. PETAL facility uses chirped pulse amplification (CPA) technique. This system needs large pulse compression grating exhibiting damage threshold of more than 4 J/cm2
normal beam at 1.053μm and for 500fs pulses. In this paper, we study an alternative design to the classic
multilayer dielectric (MLD) grating called "mixed
metal-multilayer dielectric grating" (MMLD). This design
consists in a gold reflective layer coated with a few pairs of HfO2/SiO2. The top low index SiO2 layer of the
stack is then engraved to receive the grating. We evidenced in a previous work that leads to high efficient
pulse compression gratings. We have shown in last Boulder Damage Symposium that mixed mirror is
equivalent to a "classic" MLD mirror. We herein detail the damage performances obtained on the MMLD
gratings and compare them with these of MLD gratings.
A Petawatt facility called PETAL (PETawatt Aquitaine Laser) is under development near the LIL (Ligne d'Integration
Laser) at CEA Cesta, France. PETAL facility uses chirped pulse amplification (CPA) technique [1]. This system needs
large pulse compression gratings exhibiting damage threshold of more than 4 J/cm2 beam normal at 1.053μm and for
500fs pulses. In this paper, we study an alternative design to the classic Multidielectric (MLD) gratings [2] called "mixed
metal-multidielectric grating" (MMLD). In this design, the dielectric mirror stack of the MLD grating is replaced by a
gold reflective layer covered with a few pairs of HfO2/SiO2 [3]. The number of pairs must be high enough to ensure a
sufficient reflection coefficient in order to prevent damage of the gold layer. On the top of the stack, a silica layer is
coated to receive the grating. After some considerations on the grating design and optimization, a comparison between
MLD and MMLD mirrors is also carried out. We finally detail the measured diffraction efficiencies obtained on MMLD
gratings.
LIL and LMJ are two French high power lasers dedicated to fusion and plasma experiments. These laser beams involve
hundreds of rather large optical components, the clear aperture of the beams being 400x400 mm2. Among these
components are multi-dielectric mirrors designed to reflect more than 99% at the wavelength of 1053 nm.
Measuring the phase effects due to slight thickness defects in thin films is a difficult problem when one cannot achieve
the phase measurement at the wavelength for which the mirror is designed. We believe this problem to be general in the
world of thin films. Despite the fact that we have an interferometer that can achieve wavefront measurements at the
correct wavelength, we performed measurements with another standard 633 nm Fizeau interferometer. Indeed, this
second interferometer has a much higher spatial resolution. The effect of the wavelength difference can be strongly
dependent on the layer design; that is why we achieved spectrophotometric measurements in order to have the most
accurate knowledge we could get for the coating parameters. The phase effects for different kinds of defects have been
simulated at both wavelengths and have been compared to experimental results. This study leads to a better understanding
of the limits and the trust we can have in such measurements performed at the "wrong" wavelength.
The French Commission for Atomic Energy is currently involved in a project which consists in the construction of a
2MJ/500TW (351nm) laser, so called LMJ (Megajoule-class laser) devoted to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF)
research in France[1]. For this high power lasers, the sol-gel process[2] has been selected for 95% of laser optical coated
area because of room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions with guarantee for high optical and laser induced
damage threshold (LIDT) performances at a low cost compared to conventional vacuum deposition processes.
The production rate of sol-gel coatings for the LMJ optical components will require an automated cleaning surface step
during sol-gel process. We are investigating a spraying system and wash cycles compatible with the two sol-gel
deposition methods: dip and laminar-flow coating. The challenge is to achieve the same cleaned optical surfaces as
manual process without using organic solvents. Therefore the main specifications of the cleaning quality are the
following ones: a high surface energy over all optical sides (up to 400×400 mm2 area) and no degradation of polished
sides (surface defects and LIDT).
We present the metrologies carried out and the first results obtained from different wash cycles. These one mainly
consist in measurement of contact angles, defects inspections under specific lighting conditions and LIDT tests. Several
parameters of wash cycles have been investigated such as washing and rinsing temperatures, water quality, type and
concentration of detergents, wettability effects...
An optical bench was developed to measure laser induced damage thresholds in 1:1 and S:1 modes on mirror
and grating samples. The laser based on Ti. Sapphire technology delivers Gaussian pulse of 500fs with a
maximal energy of 3mJ at 1057nm. The experimental setup can deliver on the sample a peak fluence of 9J/cm2
in right section of the beam with a spot size of 200μm (diameter at 1/e2).
Laser induced damage thresholds have been measured on several multidielectric samples produced with
different processes. We present in this paper the damage testing setup in details and give some of the obtained
results.
The Megajoule laser, designed for the study of high energy density plasma, is currently being constructed at the CEA Cesta near Bordeaux in France. Constituted of 240 laser beams, this facility will by able to concentrate 1.8MJ of energy on a target placed in the centre of a vacuum chamber in order to obtain fusion. The 240 beams of the LMJ have a right section of 40 x 40 cm2 and are equipped with about 40 optical parts of various types: laser slabs, lenses, mirrors, diffractive optics. All of them have to sustain very high fluence induced by the laser beam. Manufacturing 9000 large laser optics of this type is a real technological and economical challenge. This presentation gives an overview of this activity and details the main recent development realized. In addition, we present results on the current development program made to improve lifetime of fused silica optics at the wavelength of 351 nm.
For fifty years, a considerable effort has been and is still being directed to the production of optical coatings using liquid deposition route. Sol-Gel is a chemical process widely used for oxide material preparation. Based on smooth chemistry (low temperature conditions), sol-gel allows nanoparticle and polymeric material synthesis dispersed in appropriate liquid medium. The process investigated at CEA (French Commission for Atomic Energy) is strongly developed to afford coatings onto mineral or metallic substrates using colloidal oxide-based and/or inorganic-organic hybrid materials. Such a chemical process is sufficiently adjustable to develop purpose-built materials and coatings for high power laser optical components, taking into account the high laser damage threshold requirement. Because the CEA megajoule-class pulsed laser is needing 7,000-m2 of coated area onto 10,000 large-sized optical components, we have developed to date, several optical coating procedures, each optical thin film being prepared from a specific material and deposition process. First need to fulfil was the antireflective (AR) coating required for transparent optics and used to increase laser light transmission and to suppress damaging residual reflection. The as-developed AR-coatings were made of nanosized particle-containing fragile single layer or abrasion-resistant polymeric-based broadband layer stack. For used on highly-reflective (HR) component, a specific unstressed multilayer coating has been developed and deposited onto deformable adaptative end-cavity mirror substrate. This HR-coating is made of quaterwave stack of colloidal-based low index and hybrid high index thin films.
Using such materials, first high ratio polarizing sol-gel coatings have been also produced. Apart optical coating preparation, sol-gel chemistry has been used to develop an hybrid dense protective thin film to enhance durability of oxidation-sensitive silver cavity reflectors. Each coating material preparation and room-temperature deposition process will be described. Because the sol-gel technology offers outstanding technical and economical advantages over the conventional vacuum techniques, this process has been transferred to one of THALES production plant for megajoule-class laser prototype supplying.
In the field of thin film coatings, sol-gel (SG) process is an alternative to the conventional Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) techniques. Sol-gel process is particularly competitive on large-area or fragile substates by taking advantage of various liquid phase deposition techniques performed at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, coupled with the versatility of organo-metallic chemistry. Developed by the French Commission for Atomic Energy (CEA) since 1985 for its former high-power lasers generation, optimized sol-gel coatings proved also very resistant to laser energy.
In 1998, THALES Angenieux (TAGX) was selected by CEA to provide all the sol-gel coatings dedicated to the French Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) prototype, named Ligne d'Integration Laser (LIL).
In cooperation with Saint-Etienne Pole Optique et Vision (POV), TAGX initiated the building of a sol-gel technological platform (SGPF) aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of production of optical and functional coatings on large area substrates. A technology transfer was performed by CEA (Le Ripault) to TAGX focusing on the manufacture mainly of single-layer antireflective coatings (SLAR), but also of multi-layer AR-coatings and of multi-layered highly reflective (HR)-coatings.
Since beginning of 2001 and using SGPF equipments, TAGX successfully coated within specificaitons and schedule most of the 300 optics required for LIL activation. After this 2 years 1/2 production campaign in pre-industrial conditions, we can now analyse the advantages of each deposition technique used, the repeatability of the several processes, and the performance of the various coatings.
As part of the LMJ (Laser Megajoule) program, CEA is building the LIL laser with full size optics and LMJ requirements. SAGEM has been selected as the supplier of large optical components and coatings with very high laser- induced damage threshold. Including spare parts, about 100 mirrors 610*430 mm2 with LIDT-3ns>25 J/cm2 have to be produced. Using a 5 m3 vacuum chamber and the 100 J/cm2 mirror coating process developed at CEA-LETI, with Hafnium and SiO2 materials, we are now typically in a serial production phase. To date, about thirty mirrors have been delivered. This paper focuses on the acceptance tests performed after coating, at SAGEM then CEA: LIDT measurement and Raster-Scan on samples; reflectance mapping on CEA automatic photometer; reflected wavefront deformation with &nullset; 800 mm/1ω CEA interferometer.
The CEA/DAM megajoule-class pulsed Nd:glass laser devoted to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) research is requiring 240 cavity-end mirrors. The mirror design is based on 44-cm square highly-reflective (HR)-coated deformable substrates. Such large dielectric mirrors are using interference quarterwave stacks of SiO2 and ZrO2-PVP (PolyVinylPyrrolidone) thin films starting from sol-gel colloidal suspensions (sols). The colloidal/polymeric ratio of the ZrO2-PVP composite system has been optimized regarding refractive index value, laser damage threshold and chemical interactions have been studied using FT-IR spectroscopy. Therefore a promising deposition technique so- called Laminar Flow Coating (LFC) has been associated to sol-gel chemistry for HR sol-gel coating development. The as-designed LFC prototype machine has been used for coating solution wave deposition by transportation of a tubular dispense unit under the substrate flat surface. Thin film so created by the solvent evaporation was then dried at room temperature or using short wavelength UV-curing built-in station. Optimization of parameters such as optical layer number, coating uniformity, coating edge effect, 1053-nm reflectance and laser damage threshold is discussed. Demonstration has been made that this novel coating method is a competitive way for large-area optical deposition compared to dipping or spinning techniques. Association of sol-gel colloidal suspensions to LFC process appear to be a promising cheap way of producing high power laser optical coatings.
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