Introduction | Laser Damage Threshold Mechanisms | Surface Handling

Introduction
For over 20 years TecOptics has been renowned for supplying the pinnacle of ultrahigh damage threshold laser optics and substrates. Tests at independent government and commercial laboratories have consistently found our components meet the highest requirements. Recent developments at our facilities uncovered new techniques that raised our damage thresholds substantially above other optics suppliers. Our modern computer-controlled coating machines handle up to 12" diameter substrates.

Standard Laser Optics
TecOptics normally supplies the following types of Coated Laser Optics:

• Laser Cavity Optics
• Beamsteering Optics
• High Reflectors
• Partial Reflectors
• Windows
• Thin Film Polarizers
• Beamsplitters
• Harmonic Separators
• Multi-Wavelength Components

Coatings and Laser Damage Thresholds
Through our ongoing research program on new materials, innovative coating techniques, and sophisticated CAD-CAM developments, the damage thresholds for TecOptics' laser optics are at the highest levels in the industry. For instance, independent laboratories have measured values of >40 j/cm² for our new Nd:YAG and Nd:glass laser high reflectors. 

TecOptics has many coatings not mentioned on this web site. In addition to the thousands already in our database, we will gladly design special coatings for unique applications. If your coating requirement is not mentioned, please call us at (516)379-1203.

We are happy to coat customer-supplied substrates. Because we cannot know the quality of these substrates nor the methods of surface preparation we are not able to guarantee damage thresholds in these cases.

Coating Materials
The choice of the dielectric coating materials depends on many factors: wavelength, width of wavelength band, substrate material, damage threshold required, the atmosphere the coating will see (e.g. air, plasma, corrosive gas), temperature of the component, etc. Therefore we work with a wide variety of materials and choose the appropriate ones for each application.

As an example, many excimer laser cavity mirrors face a corrosive atmosphere of highly reactive fluorine or chlorine ions. In these cases, fluoride rather than oxide coatings must be selected. However, fluoride coatings are typically not as hard as oxides. Thus, for non-corrosive atmospheres, oxides should be chosen. TecOptics coating specialists have been at the forefront of coating engineering for over 20 years and will choose the most appropriate materials for each application.