Laser damage measurements with multiple pulses at constant fluence (S-on-1 measurements) are of high practical importance for design and validation of high power photonic instruments. Using nanosecond lasers, it has been recognized long ago that single pulse laser damage is linked to fabrication related defects. Models describing the laser damage probability as the probability of encounter between the high fluence region of the laser beam and the fabrication related defects are thus widely used to analyze the measurements. Nanosecond S-on-1 tests often reveal the "fatigue effect", i.e.a decrease of the laser damage threshold with increasing pulse number. Most authors attribute this effect to cumulative material modifications operated by the first pulses. In this paper we discuss the different situations that are observed upon nanosecond S-on-1 measurements of several different materials using different wavelengths and speak in particular about the defects involved in the laser damage mechanism. These defects may be fabrication-related or laser-induced, stable or evolutive, cumulative or of short lifetime. We will show that the type of defect that is dominating an S-on-1 experiment depends on the wavelength and the material under test and give examples from measurements of nonlinear optical crystals, fused silica and oxide mixture coatings.

Laser-induced damage thresholds and morphologies of laser ablated sites on dielectric thin films are studied based on experiments and simulations. The films are single layers of hafnia and niobia deposited on fused silica substrates with a magnetron sputtering technique. Laser experiments are conducted with 500 fs pulses at 1030 and 343 nm, and the irradiated sites are characterized with optical profilometry and scanning electron microscopy. The results, i.e., LIDT and damage morphologies, are compared to simulations of energy deposition in the films based on the single rate equation for electron excitation, taking into account transient optical properties of the films during the pulse. The results suggest that a critical absorbed energy as a damage criterion gives consistent results both with the measured LIDT and the observed damage morphologies at fluences close to the damage threshold. Based on the numerical and experimental results, the determined LIDT evolution with the wavelength is described as nearly constant in the near-infrared region, and as rapidly decreasing with laser wavelength in the visible and near-ultraviolet regions.

Thin films exhibiting high nonlinear optical responses can be promising candidates to achieve super-resolution. Chalcogenide based layers are studied using the Z-scan technique employing 13.5 ns, 1064 nm laser pulses.

Ion Beam Services (IBS) has developed processes dedicated to silicon-based solar cell manufacturing using a plasma-immersion ion implantation equipment. It enables the realization of various doping profiles for phosphorus-doped emitters which fit the requirements of high-efficiency solar cells. PH3 plasma-implanted emitters are chemically, physically and electrically characterized to demonstrate their excellent quality. Those emitters are then integrated into a low cost p-type monocrystalline silicon solar cell manufacturing line from the National Solar Energy Institute (INES) in order to be compared with usual POCl3 diffusion. Starting from a basic process flow with blanket emitter and conventional full-area aluminum back-surface field, plasma-immersion implanted emitters enable to raise conversion efficiencies above 19.1%. Thanks to an optimized double layer anti-reflective coating, a 19.4% champion cell has been achieved. Depending on different plasma process parameters, lightly doped emitters are then engineered aiming to study doping modulation using a dedicated laser.

We report on the sub-picosecond laser-induced damage of optical thin films of different thickness made by Magnetron sputtering, Ion assisted deposition and Ion plating, and submitted to single irradiation of the first and the third harmonics of an Ytterbium laser (1030 and 343nm). Using a single rate equation approach for free electron excitation coupled with calculation of the spatial and temporal distribution of the electric field, we investigate numerically the spatial density distribution of the absorbed energy and evaluate its capacity to describe damage phenomena especially damage threshold and morphologies (damage diameter, ablation deepness). Laser-induced damage thresholds are compared for different film thicknesses and different irradiation conditions.

An experimental and numerical study of the laser-induced damage of the surface of optical material in the femtosecond regime is presented. The objective of this work is to investigate the different processes involved as a function of the ratio of photon to bandgap energies and compare the results to models based on nonlinear ionization processes. Experimentally, the laser-induced damage threshold of optical materials has been studied in a range of wavelengths from 1030 nm (1.2 eV) to 310 nm (4 eV) with pulse durations of 100 fs with the use of an optical parametric amplifier system. Semi-conductors and dielectrics materials, in bulk or thin film forms, in a range of bandgap from 1 to 10 eV have been tested in order to investigate the scaling of the femtosecond laser damage threshold with the bandgap and photon energy. A model based on the Keldysh photo-ionization theory and the description of impact ionization by a multiple-rate-equation system is used to explain the dependence of laser-breakdown with the photon energy. The calculated damage fluence threshold is found to be consistent with experimental results. From these results, the relative importance of the ionization processes can be derived depending on material properties and irradiation conditions. Moreover, the observed damage morphologies can be described within the framework of the model by taking into account the dynamics of energy deposition with one dimensional propagation simulations in the excited material and thermodynamical considerations.

We present the design of infrared filters for multispectral imaging applications, based on square annular aperture arrays in a thin gold film. These structures function as band pass filters with large bandwidth and high transmission at resonance. A modal analysis based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) is performed to obtain quickly the features of this resonance. The center wavelength can be tuned in the 7–12 μm range while keeping constant the quality factor and maximum transmission by scaling all transverse dimensions of the apertures, which allows to obtain filters with different centering on the same substrate in a single fabrication step. Large area samples have been fabricated on a silicon wafer by electronic lithography. Spectrophotometric measurements are in rather good agreement with numerical predictions. In addition, angle resolved measurements show that the filters are quite tolerant to the incidence angle up to 30° for both polarizations which is consistent with our FEM simulations. Finally, a complete sensitivity analysis allows us to evaluate acceptable opto-geometric tolerances of fabrication and thus to improve reproducibility on large areas. The impact of fabrication defaults (rounded corners, aperture anisotropy, aperture edge roughness, sloping aperture edges) on the filtering performances is analyzed. The simulations of realistic structures allow to explain and reduce the differences between measured and simulated spectra.

Laser-induced damage is defined as any permanent laser-induced change in the characteristics of a sample. This change can be observed by many different inspection techniques, with different sensitivity, depending on the intended objectives and available techniques. The damage threshold definition and measurement are therefore very subjective and related to the detection method. The choice and implementation of a damage test system is then a critical issue on any experiment. In this work we present some implementation of detection techniques for laser damage metrology in the sub-picosecond regime. Different damage testing methods that have been applied will be discussed in view of their potential applications for testing functional optical components or to study physical process in the femtosecond regime, particularly the role of defects: optical microscopy, phase microscopy and time-resolved microscopy.

Laser Induced Damage Thresholds and morphologies of damage sites on thin films samples irradiated by sub-ps pulses are studied based on experimental and numerical studies. Experiments are conducted with 500fs pulses at 1030nm and 343nm and the irradiated sites are analyzed with phase imaging, AFM and SEM. The results are compared to simulations of energy deposition in the films based on the Single Rate Equation taking account transient optical properties of the films. Results suggest that a critical absorbed energy as a damage criterion give consistent results both with the measured LIDT and the observed damage morphologies.

We report on nanosecond laser-induced damage of pure and mixed oxide thin films deposited by ion beam sputtering. Silica, hafnia and alumina as well as their binary mixtures have been tested in S-on-1 mode at 355nm and 266nm using a multiscale approach. The results were analyzed qualitatively to discuss the different fatigue behaviors observed. The absence of a multi-photon absorption step in the 1-on-1 damage thresholds as a function of the band gap indicates defect-mediated damage mechanisms. During the multi-pulse experiments we observed laser-induced defects that cause fatigue effects and preexisting low-density defects, which are insensitive to multiple pulse irradiation. Depending on material and beam size both types of defects (preexisting and light-induced) may contribute equally to the observed damage probability. Comparing the fatigue behavior of the mixtures to their constituting pure oxides, we found that, in general, the fatigue behavior of binary mixtures cannot be interpolated from the behaviors of the pure oxides.

We fabricated and characterized three types of nanostructures for photonic applications. Gold structures were used for light filtering in the infrared spectral region as well as for molecular sensing based on nanoplasmonics. Also, we fabricated silicon nanostructures showing Mie scattering resonances in the visible and near infrared spectral regions using alkaline etching and gold structures as mask. For all structures, we compare the experimental results vs theoretical modeling.  INTRODUCTION Nanostructuring of metallic and dielectric surfaces at subwavelength scale can result in spectacular resonant effects. Such structures have recently attracted considerable attention because of their potential applications in integrated photonic components. First, we show the applications of gold structures for light filtering in the infrared spectral region. Second, we apply gold nanoplasmonic arrays for molecular sensing and interaction studies. Third, we fabricated silicon nanostructures featuring Mie scattering resonances in the visible and near infrared spectral regions using gold structures as mask. We will give a comparison between modeling and experiments, mostly obtained by optical spectroscopy. All nanostructures were obtained in our clean room facilities using nanofabrication tools such as electron beam lithography, magnetron sputtering or thermal evaporation and chemical or reactive ion etching.  REALISATION A. Infrared filter. Infrared filters are based on square annular aperture arrays (AAAs) in a thin gold film (Fig. 1). The optical properties of the filters depend on interior and exterior widths of apertures [1,2]. We tuned the central wavelength of the filter transmission in the range of 7–12 μm, by varying the aperture width and pitch. The results of the Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations are summarized in table 1 and shown in fig 1a. The geometry of the features is shown in the inset of fig. 1a. Filter Λr, µm d, nm w1, nm w2, nm M1

We report on extensive femtosecond laser damage threshold measurements of optical materials in both bulk and thin-film form. This study, which is based on published and new data, involved simple oxide and fluoride films, composite films made from a mixture of two dielectric materials, metallic films, and the surfaces of various bulk materials: oxides, fluorides, semiconductors, and ionic crystals. The samples were tested in comparable conditions at 1030 nm, 375 to 600 fs, under single-pulse irradiation. A large number of different samples prepared by different deposition techniques have been tested, involving classical materials used in the fabrication of optical thin film components (Ag, AlF3, Al2O3, HfO2, MgF2, Nb2O5, Pt, Sc2O3, SiO2, Ta2O5, Y2O3, and ZrO2) and their combination with codeposition processes. Their behaviors are compared with the surfaces of bulk materials (Al2O3, BaF2, CaF2, Ge, KBr, LiF, MgF2, NaCl, Quartz, Si, ZnS, ZnSe, and different silica glasses). Tabulated values of results are presented and discussed.

The laser-induced damage of mixtures of Sc2O3, HfO2, Al2O3 with SiO2 has been characterized in the infrared for both nanosecond and subpicosecond pulses. Laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) are reported and discussed versus band gap for different compositions. The distributions versus fluence of nanosecond damage precursor densities are extracted fitting damage probability curves. Two models are used: first, a statistical approach, i.e., direct calculation of damage precursor density from damage probability, and second a thermal model based on absorption of initiator. The results show a good agreement. The nature, shape, and size of these precursors are discussed. The critical temperature in the thermal model is dependent on the band gap energy.

We report on the laser-induced damage threshold at 500fs of optical films made by Magnetron Sputtering and submitted to single and multiple irradiations at different harmonics of an Ytterbium laser (1030nm, 515nm and 343nm). Single layers of SiO2, HfO2, and Nb2O5 as bare fused silica samples are under investigation.

We report on the realization of aluminum oxyfluoride thin films and alumina/silica mixture coatings with different ratios by ion beam sputtering. The atomic compositions quantified by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy are correlated with the optical properties calculated from spectrophotometry and laser calorimetry measurements. Furthermore, the femtosecond laser damage resistance (τ=400  fs) of single layers is investigated in the infrared at 1030 nm and in the ultraviolet at 343 nm wavelengths. Experimental results on the wavelength scaling of the laser-induced damage threshold for oxyfluoride and oxide composite coatings are presented.

We investigate quantitative phase imaging as a measurement method for laser damage detection and analysis of laser-induced modification of optical materials. Experiments have been conducted with a wavefront sensor based on lateral shearing interferometry technique associated to a high magnification optical microscope. The system has been used for in situ observation of optical thin films and bulk samples irradiated by 500fs pulses. It is shown that the technique realizes high sensitivity, convenient use and can provide quantitative information on the refractive index or surface modification of the samples under test.

A quasimodal expansion method (QMEM) is developed to model and understand the scattering properties of arbitrary shaped two-dimensional (2-D) open structures. In contrast with the bounded case which have only discrete spectrum (real in the lossless media case), open resonators show a continuous spectrum composed of radiation modes and may also be characterized by resonances associated to complex eigenvalues (quasimodes). The use of a complex change of coordinates to build Perfectly Matched Layers (PMLs) allows the numerical computation of those quasimodes and of approximate radiation modes. Unfortunately, the transformed operator at stake is no longer self-adjoint, and classical modal expansion fails. To cope with this issue, we consider an adjoint eigenvalue problem which eigenvectors are bi-orthogonal to the eigenvectors of the initial problem. The scattered field is expanded on this complete set of modes leading to a reduced order model of the initial problem. The different contributions of the eigenmodes to the scattered field unambiguously appears through the modal coefficients, allowing us to analyze how a given mode is excited when changing incidence parameters. This gives new physical insights to the spectral properties of different open structures such as nanoparticles and diffraction gratings. Moreover, the QMEM proves to be extremely efficient for the computation of Local Density Of States (LDOS).