Article

Summary of meeting: SPIE laser damage 44th annual symposium on optical materials for high power laser 23-26 September 2012

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the author.

Abstract

These proceedings contain the papers presented as oral and poster presentations at the 44d Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High-Power Lasers. The conference was held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology facility in Boulder Colorado on 23-26 September 2012. The symposium was divided into the traditional sessions devoted to the following major topics: thin films; surfaces, mirrors and contamination; fundamental mechanisms; materials and measurements. A mini-symposium devoted to laser-induced plasma interactions was held this year. The starting event of the symposium was a round-table discussion on mechanisms of surface and bulk laser damage held by Stavros Demos and Michael Feit (both with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) on Sunday evening. The conference was opened by Dr. Joseph A. Menapace with a symposium welcome. Dr. Gregory J. Exarhos of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (USA), Dr. Vitaly Gruzdev of the University of Missouri, Columbia (USA), Dr. Joseph A. Menapace of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (USA), Dr. Detlev Ristau of the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Germany), and Dr. M J Soileau, of the University of Central Florida (USA) co-chaired the symposium. The founding organizers are Dr. Arthur H. Guenther and Dr. Alexander J. Glass. Eighty-two papers were accepted for presentation at this meeting (same as in 2011), and 75 of them were presented (improvement by seven papers as compared to 2011), including oral and poster presentations plus the mini-symposium. No parallel sessions were held allowing the opportunity to discuss common research interests with all the presenters. With 157 participants attended the meeting (about 5% improvement as compared to 2011), it offered an opportunity to make many new acquaintances. Although held annually in the US, this is a truly International conference with 68 percent of the presentations coming from abroad. As usual, the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, offered a setting conductive to interchanges between individuals working in closely related and complementary fields. We look forward to future opportunities to come together again in this setting. The 45th Annual Symposium of this series will be held in Boulder, Colorado, 22-25 September 2013. A continuous effort will be made to ensure a close liaison between the high-peak-power and high-average-power laser communities, as well as to include damage issues related to various research efforts and commercial laser applications. Two mini-symposia related to the subject of high-power fiber lasers and laser-damage applications are anticipated. Invited talks are also anticipated to open the four major topical areas and the mini-symposia. The principal topics to be considered as contributed papers in 2013 do not differ drastically from those enumerated above. We expect to hear more about the laser-damage issues for high-power ultrafast lasers, impacts of defects of optical components on the laser resistance and impacts of material composition/processing techniques since both of these topics continue to generate significant interest. High-energy laser windows, crystals, and transparent ceramics continue to place limitations on laser systems and so remain an active area of research and spirited debate. Refinement of the mitigation strategy consisting of damage initiation followed by arresting damage growth through post-processing techniques while not creating downstream damage is also expected to be a continued focus as a large number of laserresistant UV optics are manufactured for large-aperture fusion lasers. Short pulse laser optics and damage phenomena remain an active area of research. Recently increased activity in the field of ultra-short-pulse (femtosecond) laser-material interactions is expected to be one of growing topics of the future symposium. We also expect to hear more about new measurement techniques to improve our understanding of the different damage mechanisms or to improve the manufacturing of optical materials and thin films for optical components of greater laser damage resistance. Fundamental aspects of laser-induced damage including multiphoton and avalanche ionization, scaling of damage threshold with laser and material parameters continue to attract much attention. As was initially established in 1992, several distinguished invited speakers will make presentations of a tutorial or review nature, in addition, other contributors will cover late-breaking developments of interest to the attendees. The purpose of this series of symposia is to exchange information about optical materials for high-power/high-energy lasers. The editors welcome comments and criticism from all interested readers relevant to this purpose.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Article
Full-text available
The Sixteenth Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High Power Lasers (Boulder Damage Symposium) was held at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, CO, 15–17 Oct. 1984. The Symposium was held under the auspices of ASTM Committee F-1, Subcommittee on Laser Standards, with the joint sponsorship of NBS, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Approximately 180 scientists attended the Symposium, including representatives from England, France, The Netherlands, Scotland, and West Germany. The Symposium was divided into sessions concerning Materials and Measurements, Mirrors and Surfaces, Thin Films, and Fundamental Mechanisms. As in previous years, the emphasis of the papers presented at the Symposium was directed toward new frontiers and new developments. Particular emphasis was given to materials for high-power apparatus. The wavelength range of prime interest was from 10.6 μm to the UV region. Highlights included surface characterization, thin-film–substrate boundaries, and advances in fundamental laser–matter threshold interactions and mechanisms. Harold E. Bennett of the U.S. Naval Weapons Center, Arthur H. Guenther of the U.S. Air Force Weapons Laboratory, David Milam of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Brian E. Newnam of the Los Alamos National Laboratory were cochairmen of the Symposium.
Article
Full-text available
The Ninth Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High Power Lasers (Boulder Damage Symposium) was held at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado, 4–6 October 1977. The symposium was under the auspices of ASTM Committee F-1, Subcommittee on Laser Standards, with the joint sponsorship of NBS, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the Department of Energy (formerly ERDA), and the Office of Naval Research. About 185 scientists attended, including representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Union of South Africa, and the Soviet Union. The Symposium was divided into sessions concerning Laser Windows and Materials, Mirrors and Surfaces, Thin Films, Laser Glass and Glass Lasers, and Fundamental Mechanisms. As in previous years, the emphasis of the papers was directed toward new frontiers and new developments. Particular emphasis was given to materials for use from 10.6 μm to the uv region. Highlights included surface characterization, thin film-substrate boundaries, and advances in fundamental laser–matter threshold interactions and mechanisms. The scaling of damage thresholds with pulse duration, focal area, and wavelength were also discussed. Alexander J. Glass of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Arthur H. Guenther of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory were co-chairpersons. The Tenth Annual Symposium is scheduled for 12–14 September 1978 at the National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado.
Article
Full-text available
The Eighth Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High Power Lasers (Boulder Damage Symposium) was hosted by the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado, from 13 to 15 July 1976. The Symposium was held under the auspices of ASTM Committee F-1, Subcommittee on Laser Standards, with the joint sponsorship of NBS, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the Energy Research and Development Administration, and the Office of Naval Research. About 160 scientists attended the Symposium, including representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Brazil. The Symposium was divided into five half-day sessions concerning Bulk Material Properties and Thermal Behavior, Mirrors and Surfaces, Thin Film Properties, Thin Film Damage, and Scaling Laws and Fundamental Mechanisms. As in previous years, the emphasis of the papers presented at the Symposium was directed toward new frontiers and new developments. Particular emphasis was given to new materials for use at 10.6 μm in mirror substrates, windows, and coatings. New techniques in film deposition and advances in diamond-turning of optics were described. The scaling of damage thresholds with pulse duration, focal area, and wavelength were discussed. Alexander J. Glass of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Arthur H. Guenther of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory were co-chairpersons of the Symposium. The Ninth Annual Symposium is scheduled for 4–6 October 1977 at the National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado.
Article
Full-text available
The Seventh ERDA-ASTM-ONR-NBS Symposium on Laser Induced Damage in Optical Materials was held at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado, on 29–31 July 1975. These Symposia are held as part of the activities in ASTM Subcommittee II on Lasers and Laser Materials, which is charged with the responsibilities of formulating standards and test procedures for laser materials, components, and devices. The Chairman of Subcommittee II is Haynes Lee, of Owens-Illinois, Inc. Co-chairmen for the Damage Symposia are Arthur Guenther of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory and Alexander J. Glass of Lawrence-Livermore Laboratory. Over 150 attendees at the Symposium heard forty-five papers on topics relating fabrication procedures to laser induced damage in optical materials; on metal mirrors; in ir window materials; the multipulse, wavelength, and pulse length dependence of damage thresholds; damage in dielectric films and at exposed surfaces; as well as theoretical discussions on avalanche ionization and multiphoton processes of importance at shorter wavelengths. Of particular importance were the scaling relations developed from several parametric studies relating fundamental properties (refractive index, surface roughness, etc.) to the damage threshold. This year many of the extrinsic influences tending to reduce a materials damage resistance were isolated such that measures of their egregious nature could be quantified. Much still needs to be accomplished to improve processing and fabrication procedures to allow a measurable approach to a materials intrinsic strength to be demonstrated.
Article
Full-text available
During the 1973 Symposium on Damage in Laser Materials several specific topics received considerable attention. The papers presented to the approximately 135 specialists in attendance can logically be separated into categories on self-focusing damage, surface damage, coating damage, infrared component damage, and theory and fundamental properties. Highlighting the meeting were papers on small scale self-focusing, the importance of surface or near-surface absorbing impurities as a major extrinsic influence in reducing the intrinsic damage level of coated and uncoated surfaces, development of new instrumental methods for evaluation of material properties important in the damage process, initial attempts at cataloging these important properties, and, finally, several reports on the frequency and temporal aspects of laser-induced damage in a variety of materials, from the visible to the infrared, and from subnanosecond pulsed to continuous wave exposures.
Article
Full-text available
The Fourteenth Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High Power Lasers (Boulder Damage Symposium) was held at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colo., 16–17 Nov. 1982. The Symposium was held under the auspices of the ASTM Committee F-1, Subcommittee on Laser Standards, with the joint sponsorship of NBS, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Approximately 200 scientists attended the Symposium, including representatives of the U.K., France, Japan, West Germany, and the U.S.S.R. The Symposium was divided into sessions concerning Materials and Measurements, Mirrors and Surfaces, Thin Films, and finally Fundamental Mechanisms. As in previous years, the emphasis of the papers presented at the Symposium was directed toward new frontiers and new developments. Particular emphasis was given to materials for high-power apparatus. The wavelength range of prime interest was from 10.6 μm to the UV region. Highlights included surface characterization, thin-film–substrate boundaries, and advances in fundamental laser–matter threshold interactions and damage mechanisms. Harold E. Bennett of the Naval Weapons Center, Arthur H. Guenther of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, David Milam of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Brian E. Newnam of the Los Alamos National Laboratory were cochairmen of the Symposium.
Article
Full-text available
The Fifteenth Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High Power Lasers (Boulder Damage Symposium) was held at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, CO, 14–16 Nov. 1983. The Symposium was held under the auspices of the ASTM Committee F-1, Subcommittee on Laser Standards, with the joint sponsorship of NBS, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Approximately 200 scientists were in attendance, including representatives of the U.K., France, Israel, and West Germany. The Symposium was divided into sessions concerning Materials and Measurements, Mirrors and Surfaces, Thin Films, and finally Fundamental Mechanisms. As in previous years, the emphasis of the contributed papers was directed toward new frontiers and new developments. Particular emphasis was given to materials for high-power apparatus. The wavelength range of prime interest extended from 10.6 μm to the UV region. Highlights included surface characterization, thin-film–substrate boundaries, and advances in fundamental laser–matter threshold interactions and mechanisms. The scaling of damage thresholds with pulse duration, focal area, and wavelength was discussed in detail. Harold E. Bennett of the Naval Weapons Center, Arthur H. Guenther of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, David Milam of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Brian E. Newnam of the Los Alamos National Laboratory were cochairmen of this Symposium.
Article
The 28th annual symposium on optical materials for high-power lasers (Boulder damage symposium) was held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, CO, 7--9 October 1996. The symposium was held under the joint sponsorship of Bennett Optical Research, the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. The symposium was divided into sessions concerning materials and measurements, surfaces and mirrors, thin films, fundamental mechanisms, and a mini-symposium on Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Fibers, organized by R.E. Setchell and Sandia National Laboratories. As in previous years, the emphasis of the papers presented at the symposium was directed toward new frontiers and new developments. Particular emphasis was given to materials for high-power laser systems. The wavelength range of prime interest was from 10.6 {micro}m in the infrared to the UV region. Highlights included surface characterization, thin film/substrate boundaries, and advances in fundamental laser-matter interactions and mechanisms.