Dynamics of femtosecond laser pulse induced damage in multilayers

We report the single-shot damage thresholds of MgF2/ZnS onmidirectional reflector for laser pulse durations from 50 A to 900 fs. A coupled dynamic model is applied to study the damage mechanisms, in which we consider not only the electronic excitation of the material, but also the influence of this excitation-induced changes in the complex refractive index of material on the laser pulse itself. The results indicate that this feedback effect plays a very important role during the damage of material. Based on this model, we calculate the threshold fluences and the time-resolved excitation process of the multiplayer. The theoretical calculations agree well with our experimental results. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms of femtosecond laser-induced damage in magnesium fluoride

We studied the single-shot damage in magnesium fluoride irradiated by 800 nm femtosecond (fs) laser. The dependence of damage thresholds on the laser pulse durations from 60 to 750 fs was measured. The pump-probe measurements were carried out to investigate the time-resolved electronic excitation processes. A coupled dynamic model was applied to study the microprocesses in the interaction between fs laser and magnesium fluoride. The results indicate that both multiphoton ionization and avalanche ionization play important roles in the femtosecond laser-induced damage in MgF2. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Photonic nanowires directly drawn from bulk glasses

High-uniform nanowires with diameters down to 50 nm are directly taper-drawn from bulk glasses. Typical loss of these wires goes down to 0.1 dB/mm for single-mode operation. Favorable photonic properties such as high index for tight optical confinement in tellurite glass nanowires and photoluminescence for active devices in doped fluoride and phosphate glass nanowires are observed. Supporting high-index tellurite nanowires with solid substrates (such as silica glass and MgF2 crystal) and assembling low-loss microcoupler with these wires are also demonstrated. Photonic nanowires demonstrated in this work may open up vast opportunities for making versatile building blocks for future micro- and nanoscale photonic circuits and components. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

Thermal analysis of glasses in TeO2-BaF2-LaF3 systems

Divalent metal fluorides MF2 (M=Sr, Mg, Ca) in oxyfluoride tellurite glasses TeO2-BaF2-LaF3 were synthesized. The densities, refractive indices and characteristic temperatures of synthesized glasses were measured. The influence of divalent metal fluorides MF2 (M=Sr, Mg, Ca) on the thermal stability of oxyfluoride tellurite glasses TeO2-BaF2-LaF3 were studied. Results show that the replacement of BaF2 by SrF2 and MgF2 can enhance the thermal stability against crystallization of the glass. A glass system with good thermal stability was produced, which could be a potential candidate for the host materials of the fiber devices.

Devitrification of TeO2-doped fluoroaluminate glass

Crystallization behavior of the glass system AlF3-MgF2-CaF2-SrF2-BaF2-YF3-TeO2 (AMCSBY-TeO2) Was studied by the nonisothermal method using differential thermal analysis. The activation energy E and Avrami exponent n were determined by nonisothermal method. It is found that the value of E varies with increasing TeO2 and reaches a minimum at 10 mol fraction TeO2, while n decreases from 3.65 to 1.78 with the addition of TeO2. X-ray diffraction shows that Ba2Te3O8, MgTe2O5, and SrTeO3 phase formed when the glasses were reheated. The addition of TeO2 changes the crystallization mechanism and improves the stability of the fluoroaluminate glass.

Effect of alkali and alkaline earth fluoride introduction on thermal stability and structure of fluorophosphate glasses

The thermal stability and structure of RF-RF2-AIF(3)-Al(PO3)(3) fluorophosphate glasses were investigated. Analyses of infrared absorbance spectra and Raman spectra reveal that with increasing number of alkali and alkaline earth fluoride components, the sum of P-O-P bond and O-P-O bond increases and glass network is strengthened. Consequently, the inhibition to nucleation and crystallization processes is improved, which is proved by the increment of thermal stability factors AT and S determined by differential scanning calorimetry. In addition, it was found that LiF has poor ability to form glass in univalent alkali fluorides and MgF2 has comparative strong ability to form glass in bivalent alkaline earth fluorides. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Stress, absorptance and laser-induced damage threshold properties of 355-nm HR coatings

A number of 355-nm Al2O3/MgF2 high-reflectance (HR) coatings were prepared by electron-beam evaporation. The influences of the number of coating layers and deposition temperature on the 355-nm Al2O3/MgF2 HR coatings were investigated. The stress was measured by viewing the substrate deformation before and after coating deposition using an optical interferometer. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the samples was measured by a 355-nm Nd:YAG laser with a pulse width of 8 ns. Transmittance and reflectance of the samples were measured by a Lambda 900 spectrometer. It was found that absorptance was the main reason to result in a low LIDT of 355-nm Al2O3/MgF2 HR coatings. The stress in Al2O3/MgF2 HR coatings played an unimportant role in the LIDT, although MgF2 is known to have high tensile stress.

Overcoat dependence of laser-induced damage threshold of 355 nm HR coatings

A series of HR coatings, with and without overcoat, were prepared by electron beam evaporation using the same deposition process. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was measured by a 355 nm Nd:YAG laser with a pulse width of 8 ns. Damage morphologies of samples were observed by Leica-DMRXE Microscope. The stress was measured by viewing the substrate deformation before and after coatings deposition using an optical interferometer. Reflectance of the samples was measured by Lambda 900 Spectrometer. The theoretical results of electric field distributions of the samples were calculate by thin film design software (TFCalc). It was found that SiO2 overcoat had improved the LIDT greatly, while MgF2 overcoat had little effect on the LIDT because of its high stress in the HR coatings. The damage morphologies were different among HR coatings with and without overcoats. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Temperature fields of 355 nm HR coatings based on the interface absorption model

Temperature fields of 355 nm high-reflectance (HR) coatings were investigated based on the interface absorption model. It was found that the highest temperature in the HR coatings increased with an increase in the extinction coefficient of the interface A, B, C, Al2O3 and MgF2. The highest temperature of HR coatings that can be reached increased quickly with the increase in the extinction coefficient of interface A in particular. The temperature rises of 355 nm HR coatings at different layers and different deposition temperatures were investigated based on experiments also. The damage mechanism of 355 nm HR coatings was confirmed with temperature fields and the interface absorption model.

355nm增透膜的设计、制备与性能

用热舟蒸发法结合修正挡板技术制备了355 nm LaF3/MgF2增透膜,并对部分样品进行了真空退火。采用Lambda 900光谱仪测试了增透膜的低反光谱和透射光谱,并考察了其光谱稳定性;使用脉冲8 ns的355 nm激光测试了增透膜的激光损伤阈值(LIDT);采用Normarski显微镜对增透膜的表面缺陷密度和破斑形貌进行了观察。实验结果表明,制备得到的增透膜的剩余反射率较低,光谱稳定性好;真空退火对增透膜的激光损伤阈值没有改善;增透膜的破环形貌为散点形式,结合破斑深度测试表明薄膜的破坏源于薄膜和基底界面的缺陷点。JGS1熔石英基底由于有好的表面状况、固有的高激光损伤阈值和以其为基底的增透膜具有更低的表面场强,使得其上的增透膜有更高的抗激光损伤能力。

Shape and Phase-Controlled Synthesis of KMgF3 Colloidal Nanocrystals via Microwave Irradiation

In this paper, we present a facile one-step route to controlled synthesis of colloidal KMgF3 nanocrystals via the thermolysis of metal trifluoroacetate precursors in combined solvents (OA/OM) using microwave irradiation. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, and photoluminescence (PL) spectra were employed to characterize the samples. Only through the variation of the OA/OM ratio, can the phase and shape of nanocrystals be readily controlled, resulting in the formation of well-defined near-spherical nanoparticles, and nanoplates of cubic-phased KMgF3, as well as nanorods of tetragonal-phased MgF2, and a possible mechanism has been proposed to elucidate this effect. Furthermore, all these samples in this system can be well dispersed in nonpolar solvents such as cyclohexane to form stable and clear colloidal solutions, due to the successful coating of organic surfactants (OA/OM) on the nanocrystal surface.

Synthesis and luminescence characteristics of LiMgAlF6:Ln(3+) (Ln = Ce, Eu, Tb)

By solid state reaction, LiMgAlF6 and LiMgAlF6:Ln(3+) are synthetized with the ratio 120/100/110 of LiF/MgF2/AlF3, at 1008 K, in high-purity Ar stream. Their crystal structure which belongs to hexagonal system are determined by X-Ray-Diffraction (XRD). Luminescence characteristics of Ce3+, Eu3+, Tb3+ and sensitization of Ce3+ to Tb3+ in LiMgAlF6 are studied. It is shown that the sensitization of Ce3+ to Tb3+ is efficient and a bright green emission is observed.