3. Laser flux resistance metrology

Measuring flux withstand is a tricky business. To study physical phenomena or qualify components, laboratories and manufacturers often have their own definition of laser damage (depending, for example, on how it is detected or the intended application) and specific test conditions (beam size, pulse duration, etc.). What's more, damage thresholds are not specific to a material, and are highly dependent on its manufacturing, storage and cleaning conditions, etc. As a result, intercomparison of results is often complex, if not impossible, and is the source of much confusion and disagreement in the literature.

To characterize a component, a statistical measurement is generally required, due to the inhomogeneity of materials. The general principle behind measurements of the laser flux resistance of optical components is to irradiate the material at different energy or...