Subsurface damage (SSD) in optical components is known to play an important role in restricting the high fluence
operation in high power laser systems. Subsurface damage appears inevitably during the shaping, grinding, and polishing
process, which are essential in the production of defect-free optical components. In order to obtain expectant optical
components, we need to obtain the distribution and character of fractures in the subsurface region introduced during
fabrication process, and therefore investigate the positions and depths of the SSDs in the processed optical components
accurately and remove them ultimately. In this study, we made several groups of samples of fused silica with different
surface roughness, and manage to detect the positions and depths of the SSDs via Total Internal Reflectance Microscopy
(TIRM). The lateral distribution of the SSDs is obtained. The surface etched in fluoride solution exposing subsurface
damage is also observed. The character of fractures in the subsurface region is discussed.
Due to the limits of experimental conditions the laser damage test is confined to small area sample. By small area
damage test, some characteristics of the material can be obtained in qualitative. But the test result of the small area
damage testing cannot represent the performance of the material illuminated by large scale high power laser whose
typical scale is usually more than 250mm in diameter. Statistical approach is an important method to extrapolate the data
of small area test to predict large area performance to create the damage probability curve of large scale illuminated
material.
In this article, we represent a revised statistical representation of the damage probability which can be more useful to do
the extrapolation. A simulation based on the Monte Carlo method is also given to simulate the accuracy and reliability of
the extrapolation results.
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