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A reactive electron beam evaporation process was used to fabricate 1.064 μm HfO2/SiO2 high reflectors. The deposition process was optimized to reduce the nodular density. Cross-sectioning of nodular defects by a focused ion-beam milling instrument showed that the nodule seeds were the residual particles on the substrate and the particulates from the silica source "splitting." After optimizing the substrate preparation procedure and the evaporation process, a low nodular density of 2.7/mm2 was achieved. The laser damage test revealed that the ejection fluences and damage growth behaviors of nodules created from deep or shallow seeds were totally different. A mechanism based on directional plasma scald was proposed to interpret observed damage growth phenomenon.

Different HfO2 monolayers under different deposition conditions, such as substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure, were prepared from metal hafnium using the reactive electron beam evaporation method. X-ray diffraction was applied to determine the crystalline phase of these films, the surface morphology of the samples was examined by atomic force microscopy, and the optical properties were analyzed using a spectrophotometer and the surface thermal lens technique. The relationship between substrate temperature and film characteristic was investigated, and the correlation between the observed film properties and the laser damage threshold was also discussed.