Transient Dynamics Measurement of Light-material Interaction for Laser Optics

Abstract

Laser damage performance is an important parameter to evaluate the quality of high power laser optical components. Understanding the physical mechanism of the interaction between laser and optical material is of great significance for improving the laser damage resistance of optical elements. For nanosecond pulsed laser, the time duration of laser-induced damage is ultra-short, and the measurement of related physical quantities is very difficult. Therefore, the Time Resolved Pump and Probe (TRPP) technique can effectively solve this problem. TRPP shadow imaging can obtain the transient dynamic information in range of picosecond to microsecond, including the plasma formation in the early stage, the shock wave propagation, the crack expanding, material ejection and other phenomena. Moreover, the ultra-fast physical quantities can be accurately measured by employing two detective beams with perpendicular polarization directions, for example S and P polarization light. All those information provides effective experimental data to reveal the physical mechanism of damage process.