Nano-imprint lithography of broad-band and wide-angle antireflective structures for high-power lasers.

We demonstrate efficient anti reflection coatings based on adiabatic index matching obtained via nano-imprint lithography. They exhibit high total transmission, achromaticity (99.5% < T < 99.8% from 390 to 900 nm and 99% < T < 99.5% from 800 to 1600 nm) and wide angular acceptance (T > 99% up to 50 degrees). Our devices show high laser-induced damage thresholds in the sub-picosecond (>5 J/cm2 at 1030 nm, 500 fs), nanosecond (>150 J/cm2 at 1064 nm, 12 ns and >100 J/cm2 at 532 nm, 12 ns) regimes, and low absorption in the CW regime (<1.3 ppm at 1080 nm), close to those of the fused silica substrate.

Multipass lock-in thermography for the study of optical coating absorption.

The development of high-power lasers requires optics with very low absorption to avoid detrimental thermal effects. In this work, we discuss our recent developments on the use of lock-in thermography to measure absorption. We apply this technique in a multipass configuration to increase the effective power on the tested samples. We present a system based on a kW-class ytterbium fiber laser operating at 1.07 µm wavelength, which enables exposing samples to 5 kW effective power and measuring absorption in the ppm range. The implementation, calibration procedure, and obtained performance are discussed with some applications to single-layer coatings of HfO2,Ta2O5,TiO2,Nb2O5, and SiO2 deposited by plasma-assisted electron beam deposition.