Posts on this page of our Blog relate to products and information from Manx Precision Optics (MPO).
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Inertial fusion energy (IFE) programs are moving from occasional single-shot experiments towards lasers that must fire many times per second. For optics specification, repetition rate is a greater challenge than aperture. A commercial fusion system would need firing rates orders of magnitude higher than those of traditional laser research facilities. The component types are familiar: … Continue reading
What actually determines the performance of a high LIDT coating? In the experience of Manx Precision Optics (MPO), it comes down to the following interconnected variables: Substrate preparation – Shaping, grinding, edging, and lapping remove fractures and subsurface damage introduced during initial machining, providing a stable base for coating adhesion and damage resistance. Surface roughness … Continue reading
In high-energy laser optics, LIDT is not a standalone (dimensionless) number. Laser-induced damage threshold is usually expressed as fluence, in J/cm² and is defined by ISO 21254 as the highest laser radiation incident on an optical component where the extrapolated probability of damage is zero. In practical terms the value depends on the test conditions, … Continue reading
A damage threshold is not one number. It is the product of at least five variables, each contributing to the figure printed on a datasheet. Substrate preparation, surface roughness, coating architecture, and defect density all directly influence how much fluence a coating can survive. Test methodology does not change the physical threshold itself, but it … Continue reading
A 99.7% reflectivity mirror and a 99.3% reflectivity mirror can have the exact same coating design. The difference is the angle of incidence for the light hitting the mirror. This issue catches out more optical setups than people admit. A coating optimized and quoted for normal incidence will not deliver the same performance, or survive … Continue reading
Predicting the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) in the picosecond (ps) regime has been a persistent problem in high-power laser design. Reliable models exist either side of it, for nanosecond (ns) and femtosecond (fs) pulses, but the ps regime itself has lacked one. Manx Precision Optics (MPO) has addressed this lack by calculating the required LIDT … Continue reading