Anti–scatter coating on slab laser head for preventing evanescent wave by photo–oxidation of silicone oil

ABSTRACTA low refractive index, hard SiO2 film was photochemically coated on the surface of slab laser head at room temperature by using silicone oil and a Xe2 excimer lamp. Nd+:glass slab laser produces high power laser because the light is amplified with a repeated total reflection in the laser medium. However, an evanescent wave arises on the total reflection interface, which causes a loss of the light energy. A low refractive index film 2 μm thick is, therefore, needed to prevent this problem. The vacuum vapor deposition method as a dry process and the spin-coating method as a wet process are generally used for making optical thin films. The former method can laminate a hard thin film, but requires temperatures above 500°C, and the thermal denaturation of the optical substrate is unavoidable. On the other hand, the latter method can form a low refractive index thin film, but the produced thin film has a poor adhesiveness and a low hardness. Besides, all these films are inferior in water resistance. We, therefore, formed a water-resistant, hard, and low refractive index protective coating directly on the laser glass surface at room temperature with photochemical reaction by the Xe2 excimer lamp.