Automated laser damage threshold test systems of different test modes for optical elements

The automated laser damage threshold test systems of different test modes are developed recently with micron-scale damage events automated detection, location and re-inspection. The system is carried out using a 10 ns pulsed Nd:YAG laser with a repetition rate of 10 Hz. In view of the requirements of weak site identification and growth test for initial damage sites, we pay more attention to the raster scan protocol. The automated test system is enabled by the pulsed stage movement method. A one pulse to one image correspondence have been set up during scans, which is available for the later confirmation of the automated damage detection results and the growth study at specified test sites. The new and grown defects are decided by comparing the pre-image and current image at the same place during different scans. Currently, the defect comparison rules and tolerance are being optimized to improve the accuracy of test systems.