Open AccessRole of each step in the combined treatment of reactive ion etching and dynamic chemical etching for improving the laser-induced damage resistance of fused silica
Author(s) -
Ting Shao,
Zhaohua Shi,
Laixi Sun,
Xin Ye,
Jin Huang,
Bo Li,
Liming Yang,
Wanguo Zheng
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.415438
Subject(s) - etching (microfabrication) , materials science , reactive ion etching , isotropic etching , laser , optics , limiting , ion , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , composite material , chemistry , mechanical engineering , physics , engineering , organic chemistry , layer (electronics)
We investigate the role of each step in the combined treatment of reactive ion etching (RIE) and dynamic chemical etching (DCE) for improving the laser-induced damage resistance of fused silica optics. We employ various surface analytical methods to identify the possible damage precursors on fused silica surfaces treated with different processes (RIE, DCE, and their combination). The results show that RIE-induced defects, including F contamination, broken Si-O bonds, luminescence defects (i.e., NBOHCs and ODCs), and material densification, are potential factors that limit the improvement of laser-induced damage resistance of the optics. Although being capable of eliminating the above factors, the DCE treatment can achieve rough optical surface with masses of exposed scratches and pits which might serve as reservoirs of the deposits such as inorganic salts, thus limiting the further improvement in damage resistance of fused silica. The study guides us to a deep understanding of the laser-induced damage process in achieving fused silica optics with enhanced resistance to laser-induced damage by the combined treatment of RIE and DCE.