Conventional sol-gel antireflection (AR) coatings based on tetraethylorthsilicate (TEOS) are used widely on optical elements in high-peak-power lasers. Over time, the absorption of trace atmospheric contaminants by these coatings reduces their transmission, requiring them to be replaced frequently to meet specified optical throughput requirements and to avoid laser damage. Organosilane-modified TEOS-based sol-gel coatings developed at LLE have demonstrated both excellent contamination resistance and high 351 nm laser-damage resistance (18.97+0.66 J/cm2, 0.5-ns pulse) in day-to-day operations in the 60-beam, 40-terawatt OMEGA laser since June 2008. One disadvantage is that these coatings are very susceptible to abrasive damage, necessitating extra care during handling, installation and alignment of sol-gel coated optics in the laser system. In this work we describe methods to improve the abrasion resistance of these coatings through chemical modification with di-functional cross-linking agents. Such cross-linked sol-gel coatings can withstand drag-wipe mass loads ranging from 44-100 g without experiencing macroscopic or microscopic abrasive damage

Chemically-modified organosilane optical ooatings and their applications in high peak power lasers

244th National Meeting (2012)

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